Doomed From the Start
by Dark Renegade
Summary: Hopelessness. Desperation. Violence. These are just a few of the themes explored in this collection of stories made for the GrimmHime pairing for the 30angsts LJ community. Rating will vary in each entry. Title is subject to change.
1. Non Entity

**For those of you used to my "Worse Than Death" stories, you're probably going all "WTF mate?", as all of these stories will deal with angst in some way, shape, or form. But my mood as far as writing goes fluctuates a LOT. So therefore, I make sure there's a project at all times that deals with humor and another that deals with angst. So whenever I feel I'm not in the mood for comedy, I can work on this. And vice versa, if I'm not in the mood for angst, I work on Worse Than Death. I find that you can only get better through more writing, so I try to keep myself writing no matter what. Although I'm sure the fans of my KH web comic and the fans of Disenchanted are pissed at me by now, as I've cruelly left them in the dark for quite a while. I can't help it though that the Bleach fandom has completely sucked up all my interest though. . ;**

**And for my Worse Than Death fans, don't worry, I'm still in a comedy mood. Progress is going well in the latest chapter, and I'd say that it will probably be out in the next three days. I even wrote lyrics for a chorus of one of Grimmjow's songs while bored at work. XD**

**But anyways, I'm still working on the angst themes, so including the bonus themes, there will be thirty-five themes in all. Some stories, like this one will use more than one, so I'm not sure on how many entries there will actually be. Most that I've written so far though are probably too explicit for this site (although I won't rule out the possibility of toning those said entries down a little). So if you're a shameless pervert, visit the link to my LJ, which should be in my profile.**

**But with out further ado, I'll start with my favorite entry of all so far (as I think this is the one that needs the least work). I never use a beta reader (too lazy to go find one), so if you readers spot any errors in the story, don't be afraid to tell me (I take criticism REALLY well), as unlike in Worse Than Death (it's all about the comedy), I'm striving for quality in these.**

**Rating: T, as for once, this fic DOESN'T contain sex, but still has some fairly brutal violence and swearing in it. **

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**Non –Entity**

**By Renegade Raine**

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#14: Kiss

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"The sky is not the same shade of blue

Every single thing I believe isn't true

Missing in the maze of monochrome

How did I get here? How can I go home?"

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Looking up miserably through the cracks in the single window in her room, Orihime was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't even notice someone entering her room. Her visitor stood in the doorway, until he finally walked through and shut the door behind him, which finally got Orihime's attention. Wiping off the melancholy look off of her face, she turned around with a surprised reaction.

"Grimmjow? How long have you been standing there?" Orihime asked.

"Long enough to see nothing. Seriously, do you just daydream all day?" Grimmjow responded.

"Well, I wouldn't call it daydreaming, but it's not like there's anything better to do here.

"Ain't that the truth." Grimmjow muttered under his breath.

"Why are you here anyways?" Orihime spoke with a curious look on her face.

"What? I have to have permission to come into your room now?" Grimmjow said with a raised brow.

"No, I was just wondering." Orihime said.

"Tch. Anyways, I'm checking up on you, since Ulquiorra does a piss-poor job when it comes to that." Grimmjow replied.

"Oh…I see." Orihime said with a tone of disappointment in her voice.

"What the hell are you so depressed about? Did you think I came by to chat?" Grimmjow scowled. "Don't be so fucking naïve. It'll get you killed around these parts."

Orihime glanced over at Grimmjow's face for a moment before casting her glance back down on the floor. Grimmjow was going to leave at that point, but for some reason, he felt compelled to stay for a couple more minutes.

"Those bitches haven't bothered you lately, have they?" Grimmjow finally mumbled.

"Huh? You mean Loli and Menoli?" Orihime asked and turned her head into a thoughtful expression. "No…I haven't seen them since that day."

"Good, otherwise you'd owe me another favor." Grimmjow stated, causing Orihime to give him a weird glance because of his screwed up way of showing chivalry. But when Grimmjow glared at her, she quickly erased the expression off of her face. Grimmjow was about to say something else, but before he could, he heard the door open behind him and saw Ulquiorra enter the room.

"Grimmjow…what are you doing here?" The pale-faced Espada asked.

"Doing your job." Grimmjow replied.

"I do not think I require assistance in watching over that woman." Ulquiorra deadpanned.

"Heh, when two inferior arrancar break in and beat the shit out of her, I don't think you're doing your job right." Grimmjow said. "Or maybe that's just how I see it."

Although it was barely detectable, the corner of Ulquiorra's lips went slightly downward for just a couple of seconds before returning his expression back to the usual frown. Satisfied over getting the victory in the argument, Grimmjow walked past him and out the door. Ulquiorra sighed before going onto his regular business.

It was not the last time that Grimmjow visited Orihime's room though. In fact, he visited once every day. At first, the visits were brief, as he merely checked in to make sure that no one had messed with her. But as the days went by, Grimmjow found himself strangely fascinated by Orihime's stories which were often out there, but being stuck in a place that was pretty much always serious made him appreciate the quirkiness of the girl a little more. So as she blabbered about whatever topic she felt like talking about that day, Grimmjow would sit back on the couch in her room or just wander around the room just listening to her talk, occasionally making a comment about how stupid her story was (although he mostly did it to get a humorous huffy expression out of her). Then when Ulquiorra would step into the room, Grimmjow would smirk at him as he left the room, knowing there was nothing that Ulquiorra could do against him.

One day though, Grimmjow entered Orihime's room to find her in a similar state as the day he started his daily visitations. He'd see her looking out the window in a daze every once in a while, but it finally irked him enough to want to know the deal behind it. Finally realizing that Grimmjow was in the room, Orihime turned around quickly with a cheery expression on her face.

"Oh…hey Grimmjow!" Orihime said. Not returning her greeting, Grimmjow gave her a dubious glance before speaking.

"What is your deal anyways?" Grimmjow asked.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Orihime responded.

"Sometimes when I come in here, you're looking out that window like you wish you could rip it out and run away." Grimmjow commented. Giving a melancholy smile, Orihime sat down on her couch before responding.

"I guess I can tell you." Orihime started with a sigh. "I'm just so sick of this place. I came here because I didn't want Aizen to hurt any of my friends, but I wonder if I made the right choice. I look out the window, but no matter what, the sky is always dark and never blue. All I ever see in this place is black and white. I'm sick of it. All I want is to go back home to all of my friends, but I don't think that I'll ever be able to go back. There's nothing here, nobody cares about me here, but I'm forced to accept all of this. I guess you could say that is what my problem is."

Grimmjow just stood expressionless as he stared at Orihime. He knew he was supposed to keep his distance from the girl, but something stirred inside of him. He felt like he should do something, but it was not his style at all to say something like that he cared. He'd sooner slit his own throat before saying something like that.

Instead, he sat down beside her on the couch and stared at her for a couple of minutes, trying to figure out what he should do. Orihime was a little weirded out by him staring at her, but at the same time was also flustered at his intense look. Finally deciding what to do, Grimmjow tilted her chin up and brushed his lips over hers. If she didn't get the hint from him at that point, Grimmjow noted that it was her own damned ignorance to blame then.

Surprised at his reaction, Orihime opened her mouth slightly. Thinking it was permission to continue, Grimmjow slid his tongue in her mouth, deepening the kiss. Although she was caught off-guard, she soon came to accept the kiss as she wrapped one arm around his neck. After about a minute, Grimmjow pulled away for air. The two stared at each other briefly, trying to comprehend what had just happened. However, Grimmjow soon snapped out of it as he leaned Orihime back against the length of the couch.

Crawling over the top of her body, Grimmjow narrowed his eyes before hovering his head above Orihime's. Looking into his eyes, Orihime could see the color of the clear blue sky that she so desperately missed in her own world. Finally, Grimmjow lowered his lips, capturing hers in a more passionate kiss. His skull remnant started to irritate Orihime's face, so she placed a hand over the edge of his mask. Upon hearing a suppressed moan come from the back of her throat, Grimmjow positioned his knee between her legs. He then reached for her hand lying by her side as he brought it up by her head. Dropping his shoulders slightly, he allowed his jacket to slide off of his shoulders, but it was then when he sensed that a strong reiatsu was quickly heading toward the room. Finally snapping back to reality, Grimmjow quickly stood up and pulled his jacket back up on his shoulders. Although there was no doubt that Grimmjow desired the woman, he knew that if he wanted to live, he had to restrain himself.

As Grimmjow headed toward the door, Ulquiorra entered. Usually by the time he made it to the girl's room, Grimmjow seemed content in the room, but on this particular day, he seemed to be in a hurry to get out. Suspecting something, Ulquiorra glanced over at Orihime. She was blushing, and her hair seemed a little mussed, but he didn't see any hard evidence to use against Grimmjow. Narrowing his eyes slightly, Ulquiorra glanced over at Grimmjow as he left, noting to keep a better eye on the girl's activities.

After Ulquiorra delivered her food and finished checking up on her, he left, leaving her alone in her room again. Orihime stared up at the full moon through her window. Mulling over what had happened with Grimmjow earlier, Orihime wondered if it was really worth staying in Hueco Mundo. On one hand, she appreciated Grimmjow's company and that he would at least listen to what she had to say, but on the other hand, she really missed her friends at home and she despised the fact that she was helping Aizen in his goals. As she sat on the ground, she brought her knees up and leaned her head against them as she tried to figure out what to do. After a few minutes, she brought her head back up as she made a decision.

"I'm so sorry." She muttered as she stood up, forcing herself not to cry. She walked over to the door and put her head down, glancing at the ground, before forcing herself to look determined. Placing her hands on her headpins, she spoke in a quiet voice. "Tsubaki…I reject!"

Materializing in front of her, Tsubaki quickly cut through the door, leaving it in ashes. Stepping through the smoke, Orihime stepped through the empty doorway and quickly ran in the direction with the least amount of spiritual presence. She felt like she was betraying Grimmjow, but she hoped that he would understand why she could not stay in Hueco Mundo any longer. Even so, she still held back her tears as she raced through the hallways of Los Noches.

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#35: Haha…

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"The echoes in my eyes, of all they used to see

Burning down the world, the ashes and debris

And all that's left to me

Non-entity"

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Stomping into Aizen's gathering area, Grimmjow was pissed to be woke up from his slumber, just because Aizen wanted something from him. He wanted to order the messenger to rely the message of "Go fuck yourself" to Aizen, but he had a feeling that Aizen wouldn't be too appreciative of the comment. So as he entered the room, it was obvious that Grimmjow was not in the best of moods.

"Grimmjow." Aizen said in an annoyingly paternal tone. In response, Grimmjow wanted to ask "What the fuck do you want, you annoying prick?", but chose not to die at that moment.

"What is it that you want from me, Aizen-sama?" Grimmjow asked in place of his original idea.

"Straight to the point, I like that." Aizen commented. "It would seem that our lovely guest has decided to head home early. However, I'm not finished with her. I want you to get her back, but if she refuses…"

"I kill her." Grimmjow finished.

"Exactly. Now go." Aizen ordered. Keeping a stern face, Grimmjow walked out of the room. Closing his eyes, Grimmjow focused on every single source of reiatsu in the building, searching for Orihime. Finally, he located her in a wing of the building that was not too far from where he was at the present moment. Grimacing, Grimmjow quickly dashed toward the area he sensed Orihime's presence in.

Meanwhile, Orihime was surprised that she had not encountered a single arrancar during her daring escape though Los Noches. As a door approached her range of vision, Orihime sighed in relief while quickening her pace. However, before she could reach it, she saw something flash in front of her, causing her to stop. When the figure materialized in front of her, she widened her eyes.

"Gr…Grimmjow!" Orihime stuttered. Narrowing his eyes, Grimmjow glared at her with a strict face.

"Leaving so soon?" Grimmjow asked.

"Grimmjow…I." Orihime said, trying to explain her situation, but Grimmjow cut her off.

"Save it, woman. I already know your whole spiel!" Grimmjow yelled, but calmed down before continuing. "And now I've been sent to get you back. Let's go."

Walking past her, Grimmjow grabbed her arm and started to pull her toward him, but Orihime shook his grasp off of her as she looked up at him. Seeing his slightly hardened expression, she looked back down at the floor.

"But…I don't want to go back." Orihime said in a quiet voice. Clenching his teeth, Grimmjow tried to grab her again, but she once again evaded his grasp. "I'm sorry."

"Don't you get it?" Grimmjow exclaimed. "If you don't come with me, I have to kill you!"

Orihime kept her crestfallen glance down before closing her eyes to consider something. Looking back up, she gave Grimmjow a weak smile.

"If I'm killed by you, then it's okay." Orihime spoke softly. "I must have really hurt you…I deserve it."

"Shut up! I don't want to fucking hear it!" Grimmjow roared, before tightening his fists and turning around. Letting out a sigh, Grimmjow spoke in a defeated tone. "Go. If I don't see it, then maybe I can still live."

"But Grimmjow-!" Orihime tried to protest, but was again cut off by Grimmjow.

"I told you, I don't want to fucking hear it!" Grimmjow shouted.

"What will happen to you though?" Orihime asked.

"It doesn't matter, just go before you get the both of us killed!" Grimmjow said with a hint of growl in his voice. Finally getting the point, Orihime mournfully looked at the back of Grimmjow before turning around to head out the door. However, instead of the door, she was met with a blade though her chest as Ulquiorra looked upon her with an indifferent expression. Hearing the sickening thud behind him, Grimmjow turned in horror to see Orihime drop to the ground with a shocked look on her face. After watching the girl fall to the ground, Ulquiorra blinked and looked up at Grimmjow.

"I had a feeling that something like this would happen." Ulquiorra stated. "So I told Aizen, and he sent me to do the job that you so utterly failed at."

Grimmjow only glared at Ulquiorra in hatred as he continued on, thankful that Ulquiorra did not even bother to notice his hand slowly inching toward the sword he kept at his side.

"I believe you scrutinized me earlier for not doing my job." Ulquiorra continued. "But at least I didn't flat out betray Aizen-sama like you did."

Ulquiorra continued to insult Grimmjow, but at this point, he paid no attention to his words, as he grabbed his sword.

"Grind, Pantera!" Grimmjow muttered as Ulquiorra's eyes went wide.

A few minutes later, Grimmjow reverted back to his unreleased state as he looked down at Ulquiorra's completely mutilated body. It was not enough to just merely chop his head off. No, after he sliced his sword through him, he continued to stab him continuously, shouting profanities at the former Espada, not minding that he was getting his blood all over himself. Finally satisfied the mangled mess on the floor, he stretched his hand out as he erased the remnants of Ulquiorra with a single cero.

Finally calming himself down, Grimmjow looked down to Orihime, who was rapidly growing weaker and weaker. Wiping his blood soaked hands on his pants, he kneeled down next to her. Knowing that this all could have been prevented if he had just picked her up and carried her to her room, Grimmjow looked down at her with an uncharacteristic pained expression.

"I'm sorry." He muttered to her, as she flitted her eyes open.

"Don't be…I'm thankful. You gave me something that no one else did before." Orihime said, forcing herself to give Grimmjow a weak smile before going limp on the floor.

"What the hell do you mean?!" Grimmjow growled at her. When she didn't respond, Grimmjow panicked as he slapped her across the face in an attempt to wake her up. But when she still didn't respond, he looked down at her. "I don't understand!"

He then felt something in his chest that he never experienced before. Grimmjow panted, trying to understand what was going inside of him. He felt something forming in his throat, but he pushed it back. Trembling, he hated that he had no fucking clue of what was going inside of him. Finally not being able to take it anymore, he threw his head back and laughed at the absurdity of it all. Filling the halls with his maniacal laughter, Grimmjow grasped the sides of his stomach, as they started to burn. Putting his hands on the ground to support his body that was weakened from laughing so much. As he finally recovered from his laughing fit, Grimmjow looked over at Orihime and closed her eyes shut before forcing himself back on his feet.

Standing in an eerily calm position, Grimmjow wiped more blood off of him before continuing forward. Among the things he had learned from the girl, what he had learned the most was that he had nothing to live for. And because he now had nothing to live for, Grimmjow set out to complete one last task.

Aizen was going to die.

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#3: A Call From Heaven

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"Try to stand the line, try to obey

The ghost of what I was keeps getting in the way

Staring at the sun, I'm blinded by the light

Now I'm afraid I'm fading out of sight"

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Narrowing his eyes, and giving the man who had burst through the door a confident smirk, Aizen looked down at Grimmjow from his throne. Looking up at the cocky expression of the man he loathed, Grimmjow sneered at him. Amused by his expression, Aizen stood up and jumped down to Grimmjow's level.

"Grimmjow…I've been expecting you." Aizen spoke.

"I bet you have, you bastard." Grimmjow grumbled. Pulling out his sword, he glared at Aizen. Smiling, Aizen put his hand of the hilt of his zanpakuto.

"I didn't want it to end like this, but since you served me so well these last few years, I'll give you the privilege of glancing upon my Kyoka Suigetsu." Aizen stated as he pulled out his sword. "And just so you know, there will be no one to interfere in this battle."

"So I'll have to kill the other bastards later, huh?" Grimmjow said with a grin. Aizen just stood with an amused expression as Grimmjow gripped his zanpakuto. "Grind, Pantera!"

Converting into his released form again, Grimmjow rushed toward Aizen to impale him, however Aizen used a kidou spell to teleport out of the way. He reappeared behind Grimmjow, but before he could hit him, Grimmjow turned around and blocked his sword.

"Like it would be that easy to kill me." Grimmjow mocked and plunged his sword into Aizen's chest. However, he was disturbed by the fact that Aizen was smiling. Moments later, Aizen melted away, leaving Grimmjow in a state of complete confusion. Before he could comprehend the situation, he saw dark energy surround him and felt himself being pierced at least a dozen times. Kneeling to the ground, Grimmjow glared up hatefully as he reverted back to his unreleased form. Aizen took a couple of steps forward and gave Grimmjow a look that almost seemed like pity.

"I never did tell you the power of my sword…did I?" Aizen asked. "Anyone who looks upon it is put in a permanent state of hypnosis. So from the beginning, you were doomed. Now obey a command of mine for one, and die."

Aizen took his zanpakuto and penetrated it through Grimmjow's chest. Coughing up blood, Grimmjow struggled to lift his head, so that he could spit blood upon Aizen's shoe. He looked a little annoyed by Grimmjow's act of rebellion, but Aizen only stood, as he knew that he already had the battle won.

"Dammit." Grimmjow muttered as he collapsed to the ground. Memories of his life clouded his vision, as he mulled over everything that had happened to him in the events of his last day and how nothing was fair. When a person died in Hueco Mundo or Soul Society, they didn't go to hell, but the call of heaven would also be heard on deaf ears. All that happens is that their soul is disintegrated and they become nothing. Grimmjow was able to accept that fate for himself, as it suited him. In a life where he had nothing, he would thus become nothing.

But was it fair to Orihime? Was it fair that she would never see her friends again? Was it fair that she would never be reborn to have another chance of having a good life?

As he took his last few breaths, Grimmjow again scrutinized himself for the fact that he could have saved her from the fate if he hadn't of let her escape. Sure, she would have been stuck in a place she despised, but at least she had the chance of having her friends save her. Or maybe Grimmjow could have found out about the power of Aizen's shikai and saved her himself. Closing his eyes, he cursed his own existence as he felt himself fade away into nothing. Although he had so many unanswered questions in his head, one thing was clear.

Life was cruel, and he could do nothing about it.

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"The echoes in my eyes, of all they used to be

Burning down the world, the ashes and debris

And all that's left of you, and all that's left of me

All have washed away

Non-entity"

"Non Entity" – Nine Inch Nails

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Author's Comments

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I find that I strangely do my best writing while I'm depressed, so I took advantage of it, as I was actually genuinely depressed while writing this. So, I'm pretty proud of this piece in that aspect.

As for the whole nothing thing when dying, I don't completely understand how death works in the afterlife, but Aaroniero said something about Kaien's spirit body disintegrating after he died, so I assume you just become nothing after you die in the Bleach world. It's depressing, but hey, that plot point was the crucial part of this story. So until canon evidence is brought forth (even though wikipedia says that people who die in Soul Society are reborn in the real world, I don't remember anyone actually saying it in the manga), that's what I'm going with. Although I'm sure after I post this, someone will prove my theory wrong. ;

And for any NIN fans reading this wondering where the hell "Non-Entity" came from, he's only played it a couple of times live. Apparently it was a song that was recorded for With Teeth, but it didn't make the album. WHY?! It's better than pretty much all the songs on that entire album, except for maybe "All the Love in the World". And even then, I'm debating it. Ah well, at least Year Zero is just an all around awesome album.

I'll put more themes up once I go through and make corrections to them, but I thought I'd put this one up for now to gauge the reaction of the audience around these parts.


	2. Self Made Mirage

Rating: M for mature situations and language. Don't say I didn't warn you!

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Self-Made Mirage

By Renegade Raine

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#26 – Under Your Skin

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Even if he was by no means an expert in interpreting women's emotions, Grimmjow was by no means an idiot. Every time Aizen would gather everyone for a meeting (which often even included Orihime as well), he would assign tasks to the Espada and then update everyone on the activity of the Shinigami as well as the allies affiliated with them.

Every time Aizen would mention Ichigo Kurosaki, Grimmjow would first feel the hatred inside of him pulse momentarily, but after Aizen had put him in his place the last time he had acted out, Grimmjow had since learned to somewhat control his anger. In its place, however, he would take a quick glance over at Orihime, as her reactions always proved to be quite interesting.

If the news was good for Ichigo (and ironically detrimental for Aizen's plans), she would attempt to hide her relief by closing her eyes, however the relaxed look she would get across her brow and the slightest bit of air she would exhale always gave her away. If the news were bad for Ichigo though, she would quickly cast her head to the side and gaze at the floor below her. She would react to news of others on the opposing side as well, but Grimmjow found it interesting that her reactions were always slightly more subdued for anyone else.

He was sure that Aizen also noticed the girl's reaction, but Aizen would only give Orihime a quick calm glance before he would continue on whatever he had to say on that particular day. Once he was finished talking, Grimmjow would then escort Orihime back to her room, as Aizen had reassigned the task of watching over the girl to him after Ulquiorra had failed in doing a sufficient job of it himself. Grimmjow was not happy about being a babysitter in the least bit, but when he had tried to protest, Aizen only had to leak a tiny bit of his reiatsu to shut him up.

On this present day, however, Aizen had announced that he knew the whereabouts of Ichigo and the others and planned a surprise attack on him. Powerless to do anything to save or even warn her friends, Orihime had to work extra hard to keep her emotions bottled within her. She didn't hide them well enough though, as Grimmjow could see the anxiety all over her face while he walked her back to her room. After so many days of seeing the same expression, it finally started to get on his nerves.

"What the hell is up with your expression?" Grimmjow grumbled, already knowing what the cause was, but he wanted to hear it from her own mouth.

"It's…it's nothing." Orihime replied, and worked harder to make her face blank, although her concern was still detectable in her face. Grimmjow gave a sneer at her attempt before speaking again.

"Worrying about that bastard is useless." Grimmjow commented. "I'll give him credit for surviving this long, but going against Aizen is futile. He's going to die eventually, so you might as well get used to it."

With that remark, the expression in her face changed from distressed to anger in an instant. Intrigued, Grimmjow slightly raised a brow and almost missed the immediate slap attempt going straight for his face. He had spotted her hand coming at him though and stopped it by grabbing her wrist.

"Listen, Ulquiorra might have gone easy on ya, but that doesn't mean that I'll do the same." Grimmjow said with a scowl. Orihime kept the anger on her face, but she slightly trembled upon looking at Grimmjow's narrowed eyes. "Besides, do you really think that he even gives a shit about you?"

Upon hearing his last line, Orihime's face once again changed, this time to a mixed expression of surprise and mild depression. Grimmjow mentally noted to himself how easy it was to manipulate her emotionally, before he continued on.

"Think about it. Sure, he came to save you, but as soon as Rukia was down for the count, what did he do? He forgot all about you and went after her." Grimmjow remarked. "And when I met that bastard for the first time, guess who he was with? I'll give you a hint, it wasn't you."

"It doesn't matter." Orihime said in a weak voice as she tried to deal with the pangs of reality setting in her heart. "As long as Kurosaki-kun is happy, I don't care."

"I have a hard time believing that." Grimmjow said with a snort. "Wasn't he the guy you chose to visit before you came here? Obviously you want something from the bastard, but let's face it, when it comes down to you and Rukia, he just doesn't give a shit about you. Even if she dies for good and he somehow chose you, you would only be second best in his mind."

Orihime tried to fight the horrible, nasty emotions that grew inside of her, but she cursed herself when she could not fight the feelings of jealousy, betrayal, and depression that dwelled within her. She told herself that she was an awful person for feeling such things not only about Ichigo, but Rukia as well. She had been so kind to her, when others pushed her away when Orihime wanted to help, but yet it was Rukia who inspired all the dark emotions inside of her.

Although Orihime did a good job of holding the tears that she wanted to cry inside her, Grimmjow was satisfied with the fact that he had gone through to her, as her face spoke volumes of what she was really thinking. Finally letting go of her wrist, Grimmjow walked the rest of the way down the hallway to Orihime's room in silence.

When he reached the outside of her door, he leaned against the frame impatiently as he waited for Orihime to enter the room. When she finally situated herself on the couch in the room, Grimmjow glared at her for a moment and thought about throwing another comment at her, but he figured he already did enough damage for the day and instead closed the door and locked it as he was instructed to do before setting off to do his other assigned duties.

After the door was shut though, and Orihime was absolutely sure that Grimmjow was nowhere near her room. Once she felt no other reiatsu in the area, she laid face down on the couch. She knew that what Grimmjow said to her was probably pure speculation on his part, but the fact remained that it was Rukia, not her, who had the most impact on Ichigo.

She had sworn that she would love the man in five different lifetimes, and she probably still would. However, she wondered if she would eternally be the fool in each of those said five lives. Instead of being bound to the red string of fate as she hoped for, perhaps it was instead one of black, as she would hopelessly be in love with a man who would never return her affection.

She hated feeling powerless, but everything that Grimmjow had told Orihime was all too overwhelming for her. The only thing she could do about it though was sink her head into the arm of the couch and cry silent tears into the cushion, all while hoping that the pain would go away soon.

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#21 – Touching the Illusion

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Months after that incident, Grimmjow noticed that whenever news was spoken about during the constant meetings that Aizen held, Orihime's reactions were much less exaggerated than before. She still reacted, but her face conveyed about as much emotion as it did for all of her other friends.

He wasn't sure whether she had learned to control her emotions better or if she had really gotten over her romantic feelings over Ichigo, but either way, Grimmjow was relieved that he didn't have to look at her annoying melancholy expressions anymore.

He tried to spend the least amount of time possible with her, but still found that most of the time he spent while not on a mission was with her. Orihime didn't like that fact either at first, but eventually when he would stop by her room or when he would escort her to and from the meetings, she found him tolerable enough to at least not be scared of him anymore.

She had taught herself to control her emotions while around him better, as she didn't want to give Grimmjow the satisfaction of getting under her skin again. The fact remained though was that even after months of sorting it out in her head, she could not quell the anxiety in her heart, no matter how hard she tried to convince herself that Ichigo was just a friend to her and nothing more.

As she spent more time with Grimmjow though, she found that both him and Ichigo shared many similar traits, personality wise. Both had the same constant pissed off look on their faces, both seemed pretty content into getting in lots of fights, and both were notorious enough to have the people within whatever area they were in talking about the various violent deeds they had done.

The only difference between the two really was that despite his reputation, Ichigo did follow his own set of morals at least. Grimmjow, on the other hand, apart from repaying his debt to her (although he had asked for another favor in return), he didn't have a single sense of morality in him. In her time in Hueco Mundo though, Orihime wasn't exactly sure what was good and what was evil anymore, or if there truly was a distinction between the two.

During a meeting, she had found out that Ichigo abandoned yet another rescue attempt when Rukia had again been bested in battle. On one hand, Orihime would feel awful if Rukia had really died, but on another hand, it distressed her that Ichigo never cared enough to actually put some effort into saving her. After Grimmjow had dropped her off in her room that day, he turned to go outside to lock the door, but Orihime had grabbed onto his wrist. Grimmjow gave her an annoyed look before pulling his hand away from her.

"I don't have time for this shit." Grimmjow sneered as he tried to walk away, but Orihime put her arms around him from behind and placed her head against her back.

"Please…just stay with me, even if just for tonight." Orihime pleaded. Grimmjow stood for a moment, as he considered breaking free of her grasp and just letting her deal with it. However, he was sick and tired of her damned depressed expressions. He broke free of her embrace and went to the door. Once again, Orihime grabbed onto him, but was surprised when he shut the door behind him and stayed in the room.

In an instant, he had her slammed against the door and already forcibly placed his lips over hers. As soon as she grasped the situation she was in, Orihime placed around the back of Grimmjow's neck to deepen the kiss. After a minute or so, Grimmjow got bored of it, so he raised Orihime up from the ground a little, hiked up her dress up and grinded against her.

Orihime sighed into Grimmjow's ear as she tightly wrapped her legs around his waist. She knew what she was doing was wrong, but she was tired of waiting to be saved, when deep down inside, she knew it would never happen. She found that if she closed her eyes, she could easily pretend that Grimmjow was whoever she wanted her to be.

After a while, Grimmjow reached between her legs and began to pull her panties off of her. Orihime unwrapped her legs long enough to kick the offending garment off as he removed his sash and positioned himself within her in a swift movement. Orihime cried out in pain, but Grimmjow quickly reached between her legs to message her. As her cries turned to moans, Grimmjow leaned a little, so that his lips were only millimeters away from her ear.

"I bet he could never fuck you the way I can." He said huskily, as he continued to massage her. When her eyes shot open in surprise, he grinned at his success in pulling her out of her illusion. He then removed his hand as he pushed her against the wall and proceeded to move inside her at a rapid pace.

As she filled the room with her groans, Orihime gripped the edge of the doorframe to be able to keep up with his pace. She tried to look up, but was instantly flustered when she saw that Grimmjow's eyes seemingly burned into hers.

"Grimm…jow…" she moaned just before achieving her orgasm. Grimmjow smirked at her reaction and came shortly after. He stayed in the position for a minute before finally unsheathing himself from her. He reached down and picked his sash up from the ground. While putting it back on, he praised himself for having another thing to throw at that Ichigo's face the next time the two met. He wasn't sure himself on whether Ichigo liked Rukia or Orihime, but he couldn't wait to see his face when he told him that he made Orihime moan his name, when Ichigo was too much of a coward to even make a move on her.

After adjusting his sash to his liking, Grimmjow looked over at Orihime who had since found her underwear and slipped it back on. He walked behind her and placed his hands upon her shoulders.

"This isn't over between us." Grimmjow said and leaned down to whisper in her ear. "At least not until all of you belongs to me."

With that, he stood back up and walked out of the room. Dazed by what had just happened, Orihime slid against the wall until she was in a sitting position. She wanted to cry, but knew that she didn't have the right to, as it was all of her fault this time. Instead, she brought her knees up and leaned her head against them, as she wondered how much more complicated she had just made the war between the Shinigami and the Arrancar.

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Author's Notes

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This was the first entry I wrote for the angst themes, so I figured it was about time to go through it and make some revisions. And by doing so, I found I had originally skipped over a good lot of typos. Oops. And since this site can be rather Nazi-like sometimes, I went through and make a couple parts slightly less explicit. I think this version should be okay for this site, but I guess I'll find out.

Anyways, this one's really old, but at the moment, my writing mood is slightly leaning more towards angsty. I'm just not sure which idea to write first. I should probably finish the one I already started, I suppose.

And as always, if you can't get enough of my stories, my LJ link is in my profile. I always post my stories up on there first.


	3. Never Ending War

Rated T for violence and language.

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The Never-Ending War

Theme #20: Violence; War

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As she looked out the long, narrow window of her new prison, Orihime wondered if there truly was a "good" side in the three-way war that was currently going on. In her heart, she believed that Ichigo's side was the protagonist in the battle, but Orihime also knew that she was biased in her view, as all of her friends (and even herself) fought along side him. There was a possibility that even though she knew that Ichigo had the best of intentions in mind, there was also a chance that perhaps he was inadvertently causing more trouble between Soul Society and the real world.

Then at one glance, Aizen seemed like the "bad" side of the war, as he was the person who betrayed Soul Society's trust to further his own personal goals of overthrowing the king of Soul Society. She had long believed that Aizen's side was despicable, but during the time that she had been held at Hueco Mundo, she started to wonder if he, and especially the Espada were really as bad as everyone made them out to be. Although she was not happy about being forced to go to Hueco Mundo, she had quickly formed bonds with several of the Arrancar that inhabited the area.

The first time she met Wonderwice, the two instantly latched onto each other as he was drawn to characters pure as himself and she was simply entranced by his child-like disposition. Then there was Halibel, who seemed a bit cold in personality, but Orihime was more than thankful for the times she would stop Noitora from getting too far in his flirtations with her. Ulquiorra was someone that she had kind of a rocky start with, as he seemingly lacked any kind of emotion. However, Orihime knew that he was a lot more lenient towards her than a lot of the other Arrancar would be.

And then there was Grimmjow.

On one hand, his very presence terrified her. She had been in the same room when Grimmjow completely obliterated Loli and Menoli as a way of repaying a debt to her. It was the most screwed up way she could think of to have a debt repaid, but at the same time, she was strangely thankful.

After that incident, the two would run into each other more often. Although there were still a lot of things that she disagreed with in regards to his character, Orihime found that she found parts of him to be quite charming. For one, the seemingly perma-scowl on his face (well, when he wasn't in his psycho-happy mode anyways) was actually kind of funny to her, especially when he would often try to insult Ulquiorra, although Ulquiorra usually threw back another insult in his deadpan matter of his, which usually only left Grimmjow in an even more pissed off mood. Orihime would always have to suppress her laughter, because if she let it out, Grimmjow would give her a death glare before storming out of the room.

Despite his rough character though, Orihime felt that he was the one who looked out for her the most in Hueco Mundo. Whenever she was in distress, he always seemed to be nearby, even if he always played it off as if he didn't give a shit about her and that it was the offending party that annoyed him, which often led to extreme acts of violence on his part. Then afterwards, he would chastise the girl for being weak or naïve, and then leave before she could get a single word in.

The same pattern seemed to repeat itself week after week, until one day after Grimmjow saved Orihime yet again. Finally sick of trying to figure out what his intentions were, she demanded to know why he was the one who kept saving her, especially since he was no longer indebted to her in any way.

"Because if you die, you're useless to us." Grimmjow answered as he started to walk away.

"So it's only because Aizen wants me alive?" Orihime asked with a bit of disappointment in her voice. Grimmjow gave her a slightly incredulous look before responding.

"Of course that's the only reason." Grimmjow replied. "What the hell do you think I am? Prince Charming? Don't be so god damned naïve."

"But if you're only doing it for Aizen's sake…then why is it that no one else saves me as much as you do?" Orihime asked, while hastening her pace to keep up with him. Grimmjow stopped in his tracks as he tried to figure out the answer to that question himself. Finally, with a sneer, he grabbed the collar of the top part of Orihime's uniform and forced her against the wall. He glared at her stupefied expression for a moment before moving his head closer to hers until his lips were only about an inch away from hers.

"Does it matter who saves you?" Grimmjow asked huskily, which only left Orihime in a flustered state.

"N-no…I guess not." Orihime stuttered, which caused Grimmjow to give a snort, before he released his hold on her and continued walking away from her. As she tried to combat the blush she felt on her face, she wondered why she was left even more confused than she already was that day.

It didn't matter now though, because she was no longer in Hueco Mundo's custody. After Ichigo and his gang failed to retrieve Orihime from Aizen, Soul Society sent a team of it's own, and successfully managed to bring her back with them. At first, Orihime thought that she was saved, but something deep in her gut told her that her trouble had just begun.

Sure enough, Orihime was soon brought to trial by the newly formed Central 46 Chambers, and was soon thereafter found guilty of conspiring against the enemy, when she had done nothing but gone with them, in fear of more people getting hurt. Since they feared her power and the thought that Orihime may still try to aid Aizen and his plans, they sentenced her to death. Until her execution was to be carried out though, they had her wait in the Shrine of Penitence, just as they had Rukia do before.

Unlike Rukia though, Orihime had doubts that she would be rescued this time. After being humiliated by having Ichigo break through their defenses rather easily, the guard around the area was stepped up dramatically.

Orihime knew that her friends were at least trying to save her, as she could sense their reiatsu within the vicinity of Soul Society, although she didn't like the chances of survival for anyone. With a sigh, Orihime wondered if everything would have been better off if she hadn't gone to Hueco Mundo in the first place. Then perhaps this three-way war could have prevented. Maybe she wouldn't currently be on death row. At the same time though, she knew she would have never gotten to know the people she had bonded with in Hueco Mundo, as they had secured a spot in her heart as well.

Maybe it was just as well that she should die, as the fighting would finally stop, at least for a little while. Her friends could live in peace, Soul Society could go on with it's regular routine, and Aizen wouldn't have any excuse to attack her friends. With a sigh, she rested against the sill of the window in the tower and accepted her fate.

Hearing the sounds of combat outside the shrine, she closed her eyes and tried to drown out the sound with her thoughts. After a while, everything went completely silent, causing Orihime to drop her head mournfully. Not even a minute later, she heard the door open, but Orihime didn't bother to move, figuring it was time for her execution.

She heard the echo of a single pair of feet go up the long staircase, and with each sound, she felt an impending sense of doom in her grow larger and larger, until finally the feet stopped behind her. Orihime remained in her curled up position, as she did not want to look at her escort in the eye. After a couple more moments though, she felt an arm grab some of the material on her back, forcing her to stand up. Then the person put a hand moistened with what Orihime assumed was blood under her chin and forced her to look up. Orihime blinked once before her eyes went wide with recognition. His hands, arms, jacket, chest, and even some of his face was covered in blood, but it was still easy to tell just exactly who it was.

"Grimmjow?" Orihime asked. With a raise of a brow, Grimmjow gave her an odd look.

"Who the fuck else would it be?" Grimmjow responded with a sneer. Looking at him again, Orihime realized that all the blood on him wasn't his own, as he didn't have a single scratch on his body. Because of this, Orihime was afraid, although it disturbed her that she felt relieved at the same time. Wrapping her arms around his waist, she rested her head against him, not paying any attention to the blood that transferred to her face.

"How many did you kill?" Orihime asked, afraid to hear his reply, fearing that someone close to her may have died at his hands.

"Only the ones that got in my way." Grimmjow answered simply, which only caused Orihime to worry more. "Now let's go before that stupid prick, Aizen, finds out that you're with me."

"What are you doing?!" Orihime exclaimed, confused by Grimmjow's desire to hide her from Aizen.

"Isn't it obvious?" Grimmjow said with a shrug. "He doesn't know how the hell to keep you away from those Soul Society bastards, so you're going with me."

"But what if he finds us? You'll get kill-" Orihime tried to protest.

"He won't find us!" Grimmjow snapped, and paused a moment to cool down. "No one will find us."

Orihime looked at her savior with even more confusion than before. Where would he take her? What exactly did he want with her anyways? And why was it that Orihime felt that perhaps it was safer for everyone if she did go along with him?

She doubted the fact that he really could find a place to hide from everyone, but Orihime didn't deny the very possibility of it. Grimmjow was not the first person that she would choose to spend the rest of her life with, but she also knew that he would protect her. Deciding that the easiest way for peace for everyone was to go with him, Orihime looked down at the ground, momentarily mourning the loss of contact with the people dear to her before looking back up to Grimmjow.

"Okay…take me where you want to go." Orihime finally spoke. Upon hearing her response, Grimmjow picked the girl up underneath her armpits and slung her over his shoulder. With a wave of his hand, a portal opened in front of them.

She didn't know if she had just stopped the war, or only made it worse. As the two stepped through the entrance, Orihime clung to Grimmjow's shoulder, afraid of what she might experience next.

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Author's Notes

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I know what you are all thinking. "OMG LIKE WHERE DID HE TAKE HER?!". Isn't it obvious? It's to the Land of Eternal Smexing. Duh.

But seriously, even I don't know where he took her, so use your imagination!

Anyways, I did this story, because I had kind of a random image come into my head of Orihime being detained somewhere and Grimmjow bursts in to save the day, even though he's covered in (other people's) blood. The image wouldn't get out of my head, so I wrote it. :p

But yes, I hope y'all enjoyed this theme. Since I'm experiencing a bit of writer's block right now, I'll probably work on revising more of these angst themes and putting them on this site. Although I might take a slight break from the Bleach world to finally update my Organization Lockdown comic too.


	4. Vessel

Rating: M LIKE WHOA. This is my EDITED version if you can believe it. And I'm still worried about whether or not this is too explicit for the site.

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Vessel

Theme #6: Curiosity

By Renegade Raine

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"I let you put it in my mouth

I let it get under my skin

I let you pump it through my veins

I let you take me from within"

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Despite the fact that she would be all too easy to access, Grimmjow convinced himself to keep himself away from her room as much as possible. It wasn't that he didn't want to burst into the room and fill the halls with her moans of ecstasy, because god knew he already had a hard enough time suppressing that thought on his own. It was just simply because the very thought of what Aizen might do to him if he tainted the girl scared him, even if he would never admit to it.

If he did have to be near her, whether it was because of a gathering by Aizen or if he just passed her in the hallway, he would only give her a quick glance, and maybe if he was in the mood, he'd make a short (and usually rude) comment. Either way though, he kept his contact with her as short as possible, to prevent himself from gaining any more lecherous ideas than he already had in his mind.

By avoiding contact with her, Grimmjow was able to keep his mind off of her, which kept him out of too much trouble with Aizen, since he was already constantly getting himself in enough hot water for often disobeying his orders. However, on one particular day, everything that Grimmjow tried to ignore became all too difficult.

He was minding his own business, while walking down the hall, when he saw a head peek out of the girl's room. He raised an eyebrow, but continued to walk down the hall.

"Grimmjow?" she called out.

"What the hell do you want, woman?" Grimmjow asked as he turned around. "If you want something, ask Ulquiorra, not me."

"Can you just come in my room for a second?" Orihime requested in a small voice. He knew he should have just ignored her and kept walking down the hall, but he cursed to himself as he found himself walking into her room. Gritting his teeth, he looked over at the girl.

"This better be fuckin' good." Grimmjow grumbled. "I've got better stuff I need to do."

"Why is it that you don't come to visit me anymore?" Orihime asked. Giving her a weird look, Grimmjow was caught off guard. Now this he didn't have time for.

"Because babysitting you is Ulquiorra's job, not mine." Grimmjow sneered. "Now if this is all you want, I'll be on my way."

"Wait." Orihime said as she grabbed one of Grimmjow's hands. "Answer one more question for me…please?"

At this point, Grimmjow knew that he should have vacated the premises immediately, but his curiosity got the best of him. He stopped, but didn't bother turning around.

"Fine. Only one question though." Grimmjow replied.

"Why is it that you look at me differently, compared to everyone else?" Orihime asked as she let go of his hand. Keeping his back turned, Grimmjow widened his eyes slightly. Were his expressions that obvious, or was the girl just exceptional when it came to reading people? Quickly erasing the shocked look off of his face, Grimmjow turned his head slightly to glare at the girl.

"What the hell are ya tryin' to imply?" Grimmjow responded as he narrowed his eyes. Orihime walked in front of Grimmjow and looked up at his face. He looked down at her with a mixture of confusion and annoyance, but when Orihime lifted an arm to touch his face, his expression softened just slightly.

"Like this." Orihime commented as she tilted his head down. "It's almost as if…you want me."

Orihime looked at him in what Grimmjow thought might be a coy look, and everything that he tried to ignore became impossible at that point. Putting a hand on her chin, Grimmjow moved his face closer to hers and quickly ravaged her mouth with his tongue.

Putting an arm around his neck, Orihime continued to make out with him as she took a couple of steps backward and locked the door with her free hand. Afterwards, she placed her hand on his abdomen and traced the pattern of his muscles as she slowly moved her hand up across his chest. Finally, she removed her arm from the back of Grimmjow's neck, so that she could use both hands to pull his jacket off of his shoulders.

Grimmjow broke away from the kiss, so that he could shrug his jacket off and let it drop onto to the floor. But once he was free of his garment, his lips were immediately back on hers as he struggled to undo the jacket of Orihime's outfit. After a couple moments of him fumbling with the garment, Orihime finally just unlatched it for him and took it off herself. Next, she quickly switched positions with him before she roughly pushed Grimmjow back against the wall. Grimmjow was so caught off guard by the girl's sudden aggressiveness, that he didn't even notice her hand slowly snaking down his body, until she slipped her hand past his hakama and made her presence well known on his growing erection.

Startled by her touch, Grimmjow threw his head back against the wall and groaned quietly. Taking advantage of his distracted state, Orihime gently pushed him down until he was sitting on the floor. As she straddled him on the ground, Grimmjow came back to his senses as he put his hands behind her and unzipped her dress. Pushing the material down her shoulders, he scowled at the presence of her bra. Not wanting to bother with it, he just simply grabbed the front of it and ripped it apart.

Running his tongue down her neck, he reached with one hand to find and message one of her erect nipples. Moving his tongue down her body, he finally reached the other. After a while, Grimmjow moved his spare hand down to the small of her back to push the dress down past her rear. Changing her position slightly, Orihime slid the rest of the dress off her body, all while Grimmjow continued to ravage her breasts.

While it would be a lie to say that Orihime wasn't enjoying it immensely, she didn't like that he was starting to be in control of the situation, so when Grimmjow moved his mouth away, Orihime pushed his body back against the floor. After getting over the initial shock of the action, Grimmjow looked up at her with another confused look.

"Orihime…what the hell-" Grimmjow tried to ask, as he was still not used to the aggression she was showing in the encounter, but before he could complete the question, Orihime shifted her hips to rub against his clothed erection, causing him to moan again. She rocked against him a couple of times before finally moving away to pull off his pants. Grabbing onto his member, she looked up at his face as she positioned her tongue and licked up the shaft in one slow motion.

"Quit…fuckin' teasing me, woman." Grimmjow growled as he struggled to keep his gaze on her. Giving him a small smile, she crawled over his body and met him in another lustful kiss as she positioned herself over him. Grabbing onto his cock, she put him within her, causing her to gasp. Looking into her eyes, which expressed pain, Grimmjow figured that despite her seemingly complete personality change, it must have been her first time. Giving a confident smirk, he switched their positions and sheathed himself the rest of the way in her.

"Maybe next time you can be on top." Grimmjow whispered in her ear, the condescending tone in his voice evident, before moving out slowly and pushing in again. Seeing that she was a little more comfortable with him in her, he quickened the pace a little, eliciting a few moans from Orihime. Looking upon her flushed face, Grimmjow continued his pace, relieved that he finally had control in their encounter. Before he could get too confident though, he felt himself being pushed to the side.

Reclaiming her position on top of him, Orihime pushed herself down on him, before moving her hips back up his length. She then dipped back down again, squeezing herself tighter. Snapping his eyes shut, Grimmjow let out a groan, letting Orihime know that whatever she was doing to him felt really damned good. With that information, she hastened her pace, causing Grimmjow to move a hand on her hip to keep her in place.

Sensing that climax was approaching, he pulled down on Orihime's hair to capture her lips to muffle his final groan before he jerked his body forward to release within her and let himself fall back against the floor. After a few moments, Orihime lifted herself from him, but hovered her face above his to kiss him one final time.

She then stood back up and gathered all of her clothing (or rather, what was still wearable), and put it all back on. She looked over at Grimmjow, who had just pulled his hakama back on, who was also looking at Orihime, although he still had a hint of confusion in his expression.

"I'm going to defeat Aizen." Orihime finally spoke. Grimmjow blinked, but didn't say anything as she continued. "I know I can't defeat him alone though. If you want to finally be free, join me and you can be the king in my crusade."

"Let me guess…you tried this on Ulquiorra already…didn't you? But it didn't work, because he probably pushed you away when you first started to come onto him, right?" Grimmjow asked. When she didn't respond, he gave a small, bitter laugh. "But then, there was me. Unlike Ulquiorra, I actually have a dick, and well, the curiosity got the best of me. You know, I think you have this evil bitch thing down already."

"If you join me, maybe next time you can actually make me orgasm." Orihime said with a shrug and turned to leave the room. Standing in absolute stupor for a minute, Grimmjow noted that she DEFINITELY had the evil bitch thing down. Gritting his teeth, he ran after her.

"Like hell I'm going to let it end at that." Grimmjow muttered.

What was worse? Serving under a man that he despised with every fiber of his body or serving the girl that had hurt his pride so badly? Grimmjow wasn't sure, but it didn't matter, because the idea of being the king in her reign was truly appealing and he sure as hell wasn't going to allow any other fucker to have that chance.

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"They tell us what we can and cannot do

Same thing we've heard a hundred times before

When I put you inside of me

None of that matters anymore"

"Vessel" – Nine Inch Nails

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Author Comments

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For those of you going "WTF? Orihime was the TOP?!": I got tired of seeing the same set up in most GrimmHime fics (including my own) where Grimmjow is so damned abusive/forceful in smex fics, so I decided to toy with the idea of Orihime kind of shifting to the dark side, and in turn being the one on top. Also, I figured I'd let Grimmjow angst for once, as Orihime was doing pretty much all the angsting at that point. Oh, and the idea was cracktastic enough for me to have a shot at it.

The idea was well received on my LJ, so I will be doing a sequel to this theme sometime in the future. There's a reason why I only used part of the lyrics from the song in this theme.

As for my current writing, I'm still not quite sure what to write, but I do have two different ideas. Both are pretty damned dark though (and one is outright twisted). I still have one more entry that I have to revise to put on here, so maybe I can decide for sure what to write by then.

I swear, I'll write a happy romance story one of these days just to put everyone in a cardiac arrest from shock. Although knowing how my writing turns out, it would still probably accidentally become rather melancholy. Or just plain cracked out.


	5. The Wretched

Rating: M for smex, a bit of violence, and language. Don't say I didn't warn you!

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The Wretched

Theme #17: Engulf by Darkness

By Renegade Raine

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Looking down at the pathetic corpse once more, Grimmjow gave a disgusted snort before turning around. If he knew that the Shinigami would be that easy to kill, he wouldn't have bothered with him in the first place. Turning around, he took mild interest in the reaction of the girl he had brought with him to revive Ichigo. She was obviously distraught, but to his surprise, he didn't even see a single hint of tears or sadness on her face. He knew damned well that the girl cried a lot, as he was accustomed to tolerating her wails of protest every time he entered her room to fulfill his more carnal desires.

He supposed that her lack of reaction was to be suspected after he had directly called him out, accusing Ichigo of being more interested in fighting himself than saving the girl. When Ichigo had said nothing in response, he had proven that what he had said was exactly right. It wasn't until he pointed out that he didn't even know what was inside Orihime, and later aiming a cero directly at her when Ichigo had finally shown the slightest bit of concern for the girl. Although at that point Ichigo had put his mask on to unleash a greater power, all Grimmjow had to do was release into his original form and had completely obliterated his sworn enemy once and for all.

Looking upon the mildly pained expression of Orihime, Grimmjow advanced toward her. Amused by her eyebrows furrowing in what he figured was her way of displaying anger, he finally stopped in front of her. Glaring at him, Orihime tried to go around to attend to Ichigo's critical state, but Grimmjow grabbed her arm, holding her in place.

"You don't have to pretend anymore." Grimmjow spoke. "He just proved that he didn't give a damn about you. You were just another person he had to protect."

"I don't care what he thinks of me!" Orihime exclaimed. "He's my friend!"

"Some friend he was." Grimmjow mused. "He proved that he cared more about fighting me than saving you. Now maybe if you were Rukia, maybe he would have cared."

"That's not true!" Orihime protested, but knew that there might be some truth in what Grimmjow said.

"Give it up, woman." Grimmjow stated. "Ichigo may not have realized what you have become, but I think I do."

"What are you saying?!" Orihime exclaimed, trying desperately to be free of Grimmjow's grasp. Grinning madly, he forcibly pulled her toward him and brought his mouth down to her ear.

"You're becoming one of us." He whispered before grabbing her body and slinging it over his shoulder. Kicking and slamming down on his body violently, she struggled even more to be free.

"What do you want from me now? Haven't you already fulfilled your purpose with me?" Orihime yelled out.

"There's still about an hour before Ulquiorra gets back." Grimmjow responded with a grin. "And I'm not anywhere near done with ya yet."

"No, weave her awone!" Nell protested, grabbing onto Grimmjow's pant leg. Sneering at the tiny arrancar, Grimmjow gave her a hard kick, which knocked the wind out of her, but was not fatal.

"Shut the hell up, brat, and stay out of my way!" Grimmjow growled as he walked out of the war torn scenery of where he had fought into the long, quiet halls of Los Noches. Finally he walked into his room and slammed the door behind him. Dropping Orihime on his bed, it took her a couple of moments to realize that it was the perfect time for her to escape. She got up in a kneeling position, but before she could even attempt to escape, she froze when she felt Grimmjow unzip her dress behind her.

"Grimmjow…don't." Orihime protested, but was soon silenced when she felt him push the material of her dress down her arms and put his mouth in the area between her neck and shoulder. Running his tongue up her neck, he again posed her mouth near her ear.

"The sooner you accept what you really are, the more you'll learn to like this." Grimmjow breathed into her ear and used one of his hands to force her to look upon the reflection of the two of them in the mirror across from the bed. Smirking at her flustered expression in the mirror, he took his jacket off and reached around her to run his calloused hand across her breast. Roughly stroking her with his thumb, Grimmjow's eyes narrowed lustfully at Orihime's reflection as he elicited the first moans from her. Hastily ripping off the rest of her dress, along with her panties, he reached his other hand around her to rub against her wet folds before plunging two fingers deep inside her.

Crying out in pleasure, Orihime subconsciously moved her hips with the motions of his hand. After a while, she managed to open her eyes enough to look in the mirror. Upon seeing Grimmjow glaring at her with his eyes half open, she was slightly disturbed by the fact that she was even more aroused than she was before. At that moment, she wanted to stroke him, or even touch him, but her position in front of him made it hard to her to be able to do that without bending her arm in weird, contortionist positions.

"Grimmjow…please." Orihime moaned out. "I want…to feel you."

"Heh, someone's a little impatient today." Grimmjow teased as he removed a hand away from her womanhood. Sucking his fingers, he once again put his lips on her back, leaving a trail of saliva with his tongue until he reached the center of her back. He bit down lightly, causing a small cry of pain from Orihime. He licked the miniscule amount of blood that came from the wound and then positioned himself to remove the rest of his clothing before going back in a kneeling position. He then put an arm around her waist to draw their bodies closer, so that she could feel his length against her back.

"Your 'friends' don't understand the apathy…the hate…the darkness that is growing within you." Grimmjow said as he looked over at Orihime's face, but then turned his head to stare directly at her through the mirror. "But I do."

Positioning her so that her head was against the mattress of the bed and her rear was raised in the air, he soon replaced the void left from his fingers with his cock. Satisfied with her gasp of pleasure, he took a hand and lightly brought it over the wound he had made on her back.

"And that's why you're mine." He panted before drawing out his length and inserting it again, eventually leading to a steady pace, which gradually led into a more rapid pace. Struggling to grasp bed sheets, the headboard, anything, the rooms were filled with Orihime's keens, but she was satisfied enough to hear an occasional groan from Grimmjow behind her. Finally, both had reached their climax as Grimmjow thrusted into her one final time before going lax.

After a minute, Grimmjow pulled himself out of her before moving to sit on the edge of his bed, allowing the air to cool down his sweat soaked body before standing up to gather his clothing. After putting everything back on, he also picked up Orihime's clothes and tossed them over to her on the bed.

"Get dressed." He ordered. "Ulquiorra's back, and he's gonna be looking for you."

"What if I don't want to go with him?" Orihime asked, not even making a move towards her clothes.

"Look, I'm not going to shelter you here like some spoiled brat." Grimmjow spat out. "If you don't like that stupid prick Ulquiorra, do something about it."

Narrowing her eyes, Orihime finally grabbed her clothing and put it back on. "Maybe I will." She said with the slightest bit of malice. As she left his room, Grimmjow looked on with a pleased grin.

"That's my girl." He said to himself as he sensed Orihime's reiatsu approaching Ulquiorra's.

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"Just a reflection

Just a glimpse

Just a little reminder

Of all the what abouts

And all the might have

Could have beens

Another day

Some other way

But not another reason to continue

And now you're one of us

The wretched"

"The Wretched" – Nine Inch Nails

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Author's Comments

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For those of you confused, this idea was created mostly with the original script I saw for chapter 280 where Grimmjow mentions something about how Ichigo was not able to see what was inside Orihime. In the scanlation I read though, that part didn't seem to be there. Bummer. And I liked the idea of Grimmjow being more in tune with Orihime's inner workings than Ichigo. Not that I have anything against the IchiHime pairing, mind you, I just find the idea humorous. XD

And this was written a couple of weeks ago, long before I read the most current chapter, so that's why Ichigo was killed off fairly easily.

And no, I'm not sure why Ulquiorra gets so much abuse from me in my fics. He gets put in several compromising situations with Byakuya, Noitora and Halibel like to sneak in his room (and lock him out) to have their way with each other, and now Orihime gets pissed enough to go kill him (and by the way, I MIGHT add another theme to coincide with this one). Sure, he's my second least favorite Espada, but I do still like the guy. Even if he looks really emo.


	6. The Battle Within

Rating: M for light (and pretty non-explicit) smexing, some violence, and language.

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The Battle Within

Themes #9 (Hide-and-Seek), #15 (First Time), and #11 (Never Really Mine)

By Renegade Raine

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Despite being immensely proud about his status within the Espada, Grimmjow hated everything about Hueco Mundo. The white walls that seemingly covered the entire building reminded him of a psych ward, and somehow Grimmjow had a feeling that it was the mood that Aizen was going for. And like a padded room in the psych ward, there was absolutely nothing to do, aside from putting a new hole through any unfortunate arrancar that might get in his way.

Grimmjow supposed that the place was designed that way, so that the Espada and the rest of the arrancar would have more incentive to obey orders given to them. What Grimmjow hated the absolute most through was the look in everyone's eyes around him. The fucking pompous glares that seemingly everyone gave him were what ultimately fueled his explosive personality, although it was especially evident within Ulquiorra, Ichigo, and Aizen.

However, despite the fact that he truly hated Hueco Mundo, his whole view changed one day when Aizen summoned him. Enduring that annoyingly fake paternal look that made Grimmjow want to rip the eyeballs out of his sockets, he listened as Aizen spoke about how lonely their "privileged guest" must be, and then suggested to Grimmjow to do something about it.

Although he managed to keep a straight face during the entire conversation, Grimmjow's face instantly morphed into a sneer as he turned around. He didn't need Aizen's permission to do whatever the hell he wanted, but he supposed that he did have some interest in that human girl. He figured that dropping by to see what the girl was about wouldn't hurt any, and would also half-ass fulfill Aizen's order, without actually doing the task that Grimmjow was sure that he actually had in mind for him.

Stopping at her door, the thought of knocking momentarily crossed Grimmjow's mind, but he dismissed the thought quickly and instead he slammed the door open, only to see a room full of nothing. However, once he started looking around, he could sense the girl's reiatsu in the room. He wasn't much for child-like games, but he was curious as to why exactly she was hiding. Slowly walking over to the bed in the room, he stopped and knelt down.

"You should pick a less obvious hiding spot next time." Grimmjow said dryly. He then stood up as he heard a rumbling from underneath the bed, followed by Orihime emerging her from underneath the bed.

"Grimmjow? Wh…what do you want from me?" Orihime asked. Noticing the stutter in her voice, Grimmjow looked down at her. He instantly recognized the look of fear within her eyes and narrowed his gaze. Usually, when he did see terror in people's eyes, it brought him a great sense of joy. This time, however, something just seemed kind of off about her behavior. Although she seemed like the average teenaged girl, she didn't strike him as the type to resort to hiding to avoid trouble.

"What the hell are you doing under there?" Grimmjow asked, ignoring her question.

"Oh…I was…um…looking for my hair pin!" Orihime said after a while. "Yeah, I was sleeping, and then when I woke up, it was gone! Fortunately though, I must be a really active sleeper, because I found it under my bed!"

Grimmjow only glared at her, as he didn't believe a single word of her story. Sensing that her story sounded as ridiculous as she figured it did, she finally got up on her feet and scratched behind her head.

"I just thought it would be neat to see if arrancars knew the concept of hide-and-seek! Apparently they do!" Orihime said cheerfully. Unimpressed, Grimmjow continued to glare at her, as her story somehow sounded even more outlandish than before.

"It seems to me like you're trying to hide something." Grimmjow commented as his face formed into a sneer. "Are you planning something against us? It's futile."

"No! I'm not planning anything! How could I plan anything when…" Orihime started to say, but then had a momentary expression of fear, before reverting back to her normal expression. "Never mind, it's nothing!"

Grimmjow was even more convinced that something was going on with her, but also knew that he probably wasn't going to get anything out of her, even if he resorted to threatening her. Whatever it was that was bothering though most likely had nothing to do with jeopardizing Hueco Mundo, or more importantly, himself, so he decided not to worry about it and left soon afterwards.

However, there was still something about the girl, which intrigued him greatly, even if he wasn't quite sure what it was. To try to figure it out, he started visiting her every once in a while. The first few times he dropped by, he was annoyed to find that she was hiding in a spot as obvious as the time before. She would never tell him the real reason why she hid, but Grimmjow found that it was at least amusing to watch her try to come up with an excuse.

After a couple of months though, Grimmjow was mystified to find that Orihime would no longer hide from him. He wasn't sure if it was because she had grown out of her fear for him or if it was because she had learned to detect his reiatsu, or if it was both. Also around that time, Grimmjow was a little irked to notice that every time he was about to leave, Orihime would don a slightly melancholy expression upon her pretty face, before forcing herself to shift into a more cheerful expression to express her farewell to the blue-haired Espada.

He continued to visit the girl, out of purely platonic interest, but there came a day when everything shattered. The day had seemed normal, as he entered her room, and again found her sitting on her bed, with that big fake smile plastered on her face. Grimmjow, of course, knew how phony her expression was and sneered at her. As he turned to leave though, he felt a pair of arms grab around his waist to hold him in place.

"Please…don't leave me." Orihime spoke in a small voice. Even if he was momentarily stunned by her bold action, Grimmjow broke away from her embrace and leered at her.

"What the fuck has gotten into you?" Grimmjow asked.

"I know that you can't stay here, but please…out of every one here, you have been the most kind to me." Orihime said.

"Don't be so naïve, woman." Grimmjow snarled. "Do you know what that prick, Aizen, wants me to do to you? If I didn't hate the bastard so much, I would have fucked you senseless against the wall by now!"

"…I see." Orihime said in a surprisingly calm tone. She then stood up and began to unhook the latches in her dress. Grimmjow blinked, trying to figure out if this was really Orihime in the room, or if it was some kind of trick. Either way, Orihime was acting even more strange than usual.

"What in the hell are you doing?" Grimmjow said with gritted teeth. Letting her clothes drop on the floor as if they were nothing, she advanced closer to him, although she kept her gaze to the ground.

"You don't have to disobey your orders on my behalf anymore." Orihime muttered. Grimmjow wanted to scream at the woman that he wasn't betraying Aizen on her behalf at all, but for once, he was absolutely flabbergasted by the sight of the naked girl in front of him. Then when he thought that he had finally worked up the nerve to yell at her, she looked up at him with her eyes brimming with tears and desperation. "Please…just stay with me…even if for just a little bit."

Upon gazing at her defeated expression, Grimmjow finally figured out why he was so intrigued with her. It was her eyes. While everyone else's pretentious glares fueled his anger, the look in that girl's eyes marked the first time he hadn't felt the urge to obliterate something. He felt his face soften a little, but still fought the desire he could feel creeping through his veins. Inside his mind, he fought an epic battle to resist the girl and thus successfully evade following Aizen's suggestion.

Orihime must have sensed this though, as she stepped so close to Grimmjow, that he could feel her very feminine curves press against his body. She then looked up again with pleading eyes. Throwing a sling of curse words in his mind, Grimmjow knew that he lost the battle as his lips descended upon Orihime's in a lust-filled kiss. Hearing her moan, he put a hand behind her to draw her body even closer to his own. After a few minutes though, Grimmjow became all too aware of the need he felt growing in his groin.

Feeling her hands slide to his waist, he made no attempt to stop Orihime from removing his pants, as he continued kissing her roughly. All it took from her to break his kiss was one gentle stroke. Gasping from a mixture of surprise and pleasure, he knew that the last shred of sanity he had in the situation had been lost. Quickly dropping his jacket from his shoulders, he pinned her underneath him on the mattress. His feral eyes met her calm gaze for a moment before his lips once again met hers as he entered her. Although he was a little rough with her, Orihime soon got over the pain and filled the room with her quiet moans.

When Grimmjow had climaxed some time later, he rested against Orihime's sweat-soaked body for a minute, before picking himself up. Silently, he put all of his clothing back on. He headed toward the door, but turned around to look at the girl one last time. Despite the exhaustion that she felt, Orihime still gave him a tranquil smile.

"Thank you." She whispered as her eyes fluttered shut. Not understanding the source of her gratitude, Grimmjow wordlessly turned around and walked out the door.

Immediately, a whole new vile feeling encompassed his body for the first time. His intense vow to himself to not follow Aizen's orders was now broken, he was easily manipulated by the young woman, and all he got from all of it was this foreign feeling: self-disgust. That was why he swore to himself that it would be the last time that he would ever go into that girl's room ever again.

For the following weeks afterwards, Grimmjow kept true to his vow and didn't walk anywhere near the girl's room. However, the feelings of shame and revulsion did not fade away with time. Now the look of condescension of others brought him to a level of rage that even he had not reached before. He supposed that it was good for combat, but he still wanted the feelings gone. After all, it was emotions that brought so many down to their knees in the past before, and he did not want to die a fool's death.

There came a day though, when he sensed Orihime's reiatsu in an area not too terribly far from him. That part didn't bother him, because he was a few halls away from her room. However the thing that did bother him was that he could also sense another very familiar reiatsu in the area. What really irked him though was that he could hear the girl's wails from his position. He told himself that he didn't care what happened to her, as she was just another human girl and was the cause of all his grief, to top it off. However, there was another part of him that urged him to at least go see what was going on. Battling the war in his mind yet again, he finally came to a decision and gritted his teeth.

"God damn it all." He muttered to himself before disappearing in a flash.

About a minute later, he blasted Orihime's locked door into oblivion. As his eyes scanned the room, Grimmjow was immediately taken aback by what he saw. On the girl's bed was a very naked Orihime, a sight that he didn't mind in the least. However, another member of the Espada, Noitora, was positioned directly above her on the bed. Noticing that another visitor had dropped by, Noitora raised his head and grinned.

"So he was the one, wasn't he?" Noitora asked the woman beneath him. Orihime only stared at him indignantly. Narrowing his one eye, Noitora glanced over at Grimmjow. "And here I thought it was Ulquiorra this whole time."

"What business do you have in here?" Grimmjow asked, to which Noitora widened his grin even more.

"Isn't it obvious? Pet-sama here looked lonely, so I thought we could have a little fun." Noitora replied as he slowly snaked his hand across Orihime's breast, which caused her to moan slightly, but it was obvious from the look in her eyes that she was really trying to resist the sensation. Narrowing his one good eye in the expression that Grimmjow loathed, Noitora continued. "You've had her before, so you should know just as well as I do that she's a good little whore."

Within an instant, Grimmjow moved from the doorway to hold Noitora against the wall by his neck. As he started to get a faint idea as to why Orihime had acted the way she did the first few times he had visited her, he was overcome with rage yet again, although he had no idea why, as he tried to convince himself that he didn't give a damn about the woman. Startled by the sudden turn of events, Orihime looked on in fear.

"Grimmjow, what are you doing?!" she exclaimed as she wrapped a sheet around herself. Grimmjow didn't respond as he tightened his grip around Noitora's neck. Frantically, Orihime rushed behind him. "Grimmjow, if you kill him, Aizen-sama might do something really bad to you!"

"Like I give a shit whether I live or die." Grimmjow muttered.

"But Grimmjow…I…" Orihime started to say, but thought if she said anything else, she would only make him angrier. Glancing over at the girl, something stirred in Grimmjow as he looked into her pleading glance. Giving a frustrated sigh, he loosened his grip on Noitora, but still kneed him in the groin as he let him down. Pissed beyond relief, Noitora picked himself up and glowered at both Grimmjow and Orihime.

"I don't know why the fuck you would choose someone like him, but he's no different from the rest of us!" Noitora spat. Leaving the room, Orihime softened her expression as she looked over at Grimmjow, who still didn't look happy in the least.

"So you and him…" Grimmjow said, but allowed the sentence to trail off.

"He…made me do things to him since before you started visiting and swore he would do worse to me if I ever told anyone. Then every time he visited, he would make me do something new. I guess it was his twisted way of teaching me new things." Orihime explained. "But I promise, you were my first. I knew that he would probably go after my virginity next, so that's why I wouldn't let you leave that day."

"Has he fucked you since then?" Grimmjow asked. She only looked down at the ground in response, but that was all Grimmjow needed to figure out the answer. Punching the wall once out of frustration, Grimmjow cursed the fact that during the time he stayed away from her, it only gave Noitora more of an opportunity to have his way with her.

As he stood staring at the wall though, the inner turmoil of the thoughts boiling inside his head slightly quelled as felt Orihime's arms wrap around him from behind. Feeling her rest her head against his back, he felt a new resolve burn within him. It was now revealed that the woman was never really his, as she was forced to share her body with at least one other. However, he was never content with sharing anything with any one else. Especially her.

"I'll become stronger." Grimmjow vowed. Figuring out the meaning behind his statement, Orihime loosened her embrace around him.

"But why?" She asked. Grimmjow turned around to look at the girl for a second before turning around to the empty doorway. Pondering his answer for a moment, Grimmjow finally chose the message that was the most cryptic, but was yet the most effective. Walking out the room, Orihime stared in awe as he responded.

"Because I have nothing else to live for."

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Author's Notes

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I'm sure this one's one of my weaker ones, since I'm still recovering from writer's block. But after a week or two of writing nothing, I started to get a couple of ideas in my head for this one, so I decided to finish it.

I didn't get too detailed with the smex parts, because I figured it would distract from the story too much, and I write too many GrimmHime lemons anyways. :p

I'm sure you readers are smart, but I'm sure there will be a few that don't quite get the ending of the story. Although I usually prefer to allow the readers to come up with their own interpretation, part of good art is also conveying your own interpretation as well. So if you're content with your own interpretation, don't read on! Basically, we all know that Grimmjow wouldn't admit in a million years that he liked anyone in any sort of way, right? But that presents a problem when this story has romantic elements to it. So therefore, Grimmjow's "I'll become stronger" and "Because I have nothing else to live for" translate into his version of "I swear I'll become strong enough to make you mine, and only mine, because you are the only thing to me worth living for."

But if the actual Grimmjow were to hear himself say that, he'd probably have me mutilated, because those vague lines are already really pushing it. It's okay though, because Orihime is a smart girl and knew what he was going for. ;

On a side note, for once, Ulquiorra wasn't a punching bag in a fic of mine! But then again, Noitora/Orihime is my second favorite Orihime/arrancar pairing, not to mention Noitora worked a whole lot better in the role, so Ulquiorra only got a couple of mentions. :p


	7. Indulgence

Rating: M for more smex! Also warning for semi-con (but not non-con).

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Indulgence

Theme #25 (To Touch the Devil is to Die)

By Renegade Raine

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"You can have my isolation

You can have the hate that it brings

You can have my absence of faith

You can have my everything"

"Closer" – Nine Inch Nails

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Lying on the couch in her closed off room, Orihime sunk her face into a cushion as she scolded herself for getting herself into her current position. It was not her choice to come to Hueco Mundo that she beat herself over, as she knew she had no other choice if she had any hopes of keeping her friends alive, but rather, it was the choices that she herself made once being imprisoned.

Almost immediately, Orihime felt the most alienated that she had ever been in her life. The few times that she was actually allowed out of her room, she could not look to the side, as all she could see were the leering glances that the hateful arrancar would express on their faces. Even though Ulquiorra would visit her daily, his visits were more or less to make sure that she was still alive, as it would be a nuisance if she were to die before Aizen fulfilled his purpose with her.

However, there came a day when she saw her first glimpse of chivalry in Hueco Mundo when Grimmjow had entered her room and obliterated the two arrancars who felt the need to bully her. For a brief moment, she was ashamed of herself as she found herself glad that someone came in to save her, so to try to repent, she healed both women back to full health. But already the deterioration of her morals had begun, as she had seen the person that had sworn to kill Ichigo in a positive light, even if it was just for that short instance.

After that day though, Orihime found herself more and more drawn to the blue-haired Espada, because he was the only one who seemingly didn't regard her in a completely negative light. She knew that she still hated him, because he had caused so much harm to her friends, but at the same time wondered when she would run into him again, as the solitary confinement was taking a toll on her psyche.

On the day that he finally dropped by to visit her again, Orihime was both filled with a sense of joy and a terrible sense of dread. She was happy that someone else came to visit her, but yet was terrified because he was also the enemy. Not wanting to disrespect him, in fear of angering him, Orihime looked up to his face and noticed for the first time how captivating his face really was. Most people would take a look at the jaw fragment on the side of his face and never look back again. Orihime, however, was able to look past it as Grimmjow had some of the most striking eyes that she had ever seen. She wasn't sure if it was the brilliant blue color of his eyes, the fact that he wore enough eyeliner to really make them stand out, or the narrowed gaze he held upon her, but she could definitely feel her face grow a little flushed as she looked up at the Espada.

Immediately she realized what was going on and immediately tore her gaze away from his eyes. She could feel herself grow attracted to the man, but she could absolutely not allow it. What would her friends think if she told them that she had a crush on the man that had been personally responsible for their injuries?

She shifted her gaze down to his mouth. But when she started to wonder what kissing him would feel like, she tore her eyes off of him again and shifted her gaze lower to his chest.

However, she forgot that Grimmjow wore an opened jacket with no shirt underneath as she gazed upon his body that was muscular, but also not hideously bulky either. No, this point of view was definitely not helping her fight off the attraction that she could feel building up inside of her at all. Finally, she peeled her gaze completely off of him. However, Grimmjow must have noticed her looking over him as his lips twisted into a slight grin.

"See something y'like?" Grimmjow commented, causing the already present blush on Orihime's face to further intensify.

"No, no, not at all!" Orihime stuttered nervously. Grimmjow glared at her for a second as the grin was temporarily wiped from his face.

"Oh?" he asked, clearly unconvinced, as he slowly stepped toward her. Orihime stepped backwards to avoid getting closer to him. Amused by her reaction, Grimmjow continued to advance toward her until she hit a wall. Grimmjow grinned once again as he held an arm out to trap her in place. He then brought his mouth close to her ear as he leaned over to whisper in her ear. "If it makes a difference, I definitely like what I see."

Orihime's mind was now in a state of panic as she pressed herself even further against the wall in an attempt to get away from Grimmjow. However, it did not stop him from placing his lips on her neck to lick a line to the back of her ear. The foreign sensation caused an even bigger turmoil in her head as she tried to fight back the lust she could feel creeping up in her veins.

Her first instinct was to place her hands on the man in front of her, but she could not let herself do that. Grimmjow was a demon, so she had to resist him at all costs. Instead, she placed her hands against the wall to prevent herself from touching him.

As her mind was distracted with keeping her hands away from him though, Grimmjow took the opportunity to unzip the outer part of Orihime's top and pushed it slightly to let it slowly slip off of her arms. With more access to her body available to him, Grimmjow trailed his lips down her skin until he got to the crook of her neck.

"Grimmjow…don't." Orihime managed to finally choke out, but Grimmjow only gave a slight smirk as he suckled the skin. Gritting her teeth, Orihime managed to stifle the gasp from her lips.

Amused, Grimmjow brought his head down a little lower as he slowly licked a line by her collarbone.

"We…we shouldn't do this." Orihime said weakly.

"Why the hell not?" Grimmjow said huskily, not bothering to move her lips away from her.

"You're the enemy." Orihime muttered. When Grimmjow halted in his actions, Orihime thought that she was finally free. When she felt him grin against her though, Orihime lost all of her momentary hope.

"Tch. Like that matters." Grimmjow mused before licking another line up her neck while unzipping the other part of the top of her dress. As he let it drop to the floor, Orihime cursed herself for letting herself get distracted again as she tried to push herself even further against the wall, trying desperately to get away from the pure ecstasy the Espada was putting her though. She looked up, and immediately regretted it. The usual cocky grin was apparent on his face, but his eyes conveyed intense desire.

"Gr…Grimmjow-" Orihime muttered out to protest again, but Grimmjow captured her lips with his own before she could finish her statement. He attempted to get inside her mouth, but she was proving to be stubborn as she kept her mouth tightly shut. Glancing quickly at the wall behind her, he narrowed his eyes in satisfaction as he saw that her hands were still completely against the wall. Oh well. If she wouldn't touch him, then it gave him all the more access to touch her instead.

Snaking his hands up her body, he left one hand on her waist as the other lingered on her bra-covered breast. Finally, he massaged her more sensitive area of her tit with his thumb. Not being able to contain her groan this time, Grimmjow slid his tongue within her mouth. Orihime didn't respond when Grimmjow first started to explore her, but when he stroked her nipple again, he heard her moan before she subconsciously started to move her tongue against his. Finally satisfied that she was actually doing something, Grimmjow took his hand off of her breast to instead hold her head in place as he continued to kiss her.

Orihime's head was so wrapped in lust that she didn't bother to notice that Grimmjow's other hand traveling behind her. As he kept her busy by making out with her, he slowly unzipped her skirt and allowed it to slowly fall to the ground. Realizing what he had done, Orihime pulled away from the kiss, but it was already far too late. Before she could complain about the situation, Grimmjow cupped his hand around her ass to raise her slightly as he grinded against her slowly.

"Oh god…" Orihime groaned, knowing that she had lost this battle.

"That's right…it's not so bad…is it?" Grimmjow breathed into her ear as he continued to grind against her. Orihime didn't respond, as her mind felt lightheaded with desire.

Grimmjow knew that it would be so easy just to rip off her panties and nail her against the wall then and there, but as he looked at the wall behind her, he noticed that her hands were still against the wall, resisting him. It was no fun that way.

He pressed his hips against hers one more time, causing her knees to buckle. Before she could fall though, Grimmjow picked her up and set her on one side of the couch. He then went over to the other side of the couch and lounged against the cushion. Orihime blinked a couple of times before giving Grimmjow an inquisitive glance.

"Grimmjow?" She spoke with the slightest hint of disappointment. Grinning, Grimmjow lifted a hand as he motioned for her to join him.

"C'mere, we're not finished yet." He said as he kicked off a boot. When he noticed that she was still hesitating, he looked at her with a smoldering glance as he took off the other boot. He then leaked just a little bit of his reiatsu. He knew it was cheating, but the girl just needed a little push.

As if she were in a trance, Orihime slowly walked over to him and bent down to put her legs on each side of his waist. Satisfied with her position, he drew his reiatsu back in and placed his hand on her rear. His other hand went to the back of her head as he drew her in for another kiss. As he kissed her, he pushed her rear a little so that her arousal rubbed against his own. He then shifted his hips a bit so that he rubbed against her again. After a while, she finally started to move against him.

Peeling his lips away from her mouth, he tilted his head a little toward her ear.

"Good girl." He panted. He then licked by her ear and moved his one hand from the back of her head to the nape of her neck. Traveling his mouth down her neck, Grimmjow reached behind her and removed her bra. After the offending garment was out of the way, he put a hand on one of her breasts and latched his mouth onto another.

With pleasure pulsating through her body, Orihime knew she had to find a place to steady her hands on, but since she was straddling him on her couch, she could not place them behind her, like she did against the wall. Finally surrendering the last of her pride, she placed one hand on his shoulder and threaded the other through his hair.

"Now that wasn't so hard, was it?" Grimmjow murmured, pulling his mouth away from her breast.

Wanting to feel more of his skin, Orihime slowly pushed the sides of his jacket and slid it down his shoulders. While Grimmjow took his hands off of her to remove the jacket the rest of the way, Orihime shyly placed her fingertips on the scar on his chest. Slowly she traced the line of the rough, but sensitive flesh, causing Grimmjow's breath to hitch a little.

As he finally freed his hands from the jacket, Grimmjow brought Orihime's head down again, this time kissing her with less calculated precision and more raw passion. During this, Orihime's hand reached his well-defined abs and placed her other hand on them to travel further down, feeling the edge of his hole, and finally reaching the waistband of his sash. Noticing where her hands were at, Grimmjow's hand traveled down to the waistband of her panties and pushed it down, but yet Orihime's hands still lingered at his sash.

"Take it if you want it." Grimmjow said with a grin, while pushing her panties off of her ass.

Orihime hesitated for a couple of moments, but finally placed her shaky hands around his waist and undid his sash. She then slowly pushed his hakama down and felt her face flush as she looked down at his erected member. She wasn't really sure what the usual size was, since she had no previous intimate experiences before, but she was pretty sure that Grimmjow's was a little bigger than the one that she had seen in a textbook before.

Deciding that he better take care of the next part, Grimmjow flipped Orihime to her back and stood up briefly to push the last of his clothing on the floor. He also pulled off Orihime's shoes and her panties before leaning over her again. He placed a hand under her rear and positioned himself.

"This is gonna hurt." Grimmjow whispered as he made his first thrust. As predicted, Orihime cried out in pain. To try to distract her, Grimmjow put a hand over her breast and circled his thumb around the sensitive flesh before he thrusted in her again. It still hurt, but Orihime didn't seem to mind too much as Grimmjow's distraction was working finely. After he moved inside of her a few more times, Grimmjow knew that her pain was gone, as her cries of pain were now replaced with ones of pleasure.

Her tightness already had him on the verge of his climax, so Grimmjow knew that he had to finish her off soon if he didn't want his pride ruined. Quickening his pace, Orihime struggled to hold on to him as she wrapped an arm around his back. He continued to massage her breast as he brought his head down to suck on the crook of her neck.

A few thrusts later, Orihime cried out one final time as her body went lax with her orgasm. As he pushed into her deeply one final time, Grimmjow allowed himself to release as well. Bringing his head up, he kissed her one final time before he pulled out of her. He then sat up and leaned against the couch.

"Not bad." He commented before getting up to pick up his clothes. "But now that you're not afraid to touch me, it should be a lot more fun tomorrow."

With that statement, Orihime snapped out of her euphoria and brought herself back to the cold reality. She had committed one of the biggest sins possible. Not only had the devil himself had his way with her, but she had gotten some enjoyment out of him as well.

"Oh, you might want to get your clothes on soon." Grimmjow said with a smirk. "Otherwise you'll have a whole lot of explainin' to do when Ulquiorra gets here."

Jumping off the couch, Orihime quickly gathered her clothes as Grimmjow chuckled at her, leaving her in the room. As she hastily put her clothes on, Orihime wondered how she was going to be able to face her friends if she were ever to see them again after she screwed the enemy. Especially when she enjoyed every minute of it.

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Author's Comments

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Some people asked for some pr0n, so here you guys go! 3

Not a whole lot to add here this time, I guess.

But hey, Orihime's birthday is coming up on September 3rd! I normally am not the type to celebrate character's birthdays, but god damn it, I heart Orihime to death, and I'll be damned if I don't write something for her birthday. I will REALLY try to get it out on her birthday, but sometimes my writing can get sluggish. :p


	8. Lima Syndrome

Rating: T. As much as I tried for PG, it's impossible with Grimmjow in it. XD

Happy birthday, Orihime!

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Lima Syndrome

Theme #24: No Future

By Renegade Raine

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"Hey Grimmjow?" Orihime asked out of the blue one day as Grimmjow paid her one of his daily visits. As much as it was a pain in the ass to saunter over to her room every day, he didn't have a choice in the matter after Ulquiorra had been relieved of his supervisory duties with the girl.

"What do ya want now?" Grimmjow asked with an annoyed tone, knowing that when Orihime usually asked him something, she wanted to know some irrelevant information, like what day it was.

"When's your birthday? I've never asked." Orihime answered and scratched the back of her head as she gave a silly look. Grimmjow glared at for her a couple of seconds, but when he saw that she was serious, the scowl on his face went deeper.

"I'm dead as it is, why the fuck should it matter?" Grimmjow answered. By now, Orihime was used to his rude answers, so his reply didn't bother her any. However, she still didn't look satisfied with his answer.

"Well, when was your birthday when you were alive?" Orihime asked after some thought. This time Grimmjow didn't look annoyed, but gave a little sigh as he leaned against a wall.

"I don't remember jack shit about my life, and honestly, I like it that way." Grimmjow commented. "I don't see what the big deal is with birthdays anyways. I mean, all you do is celebrate the fact that you're one year closer to death."

"I guess you could think of it that way." Orihime said thoughtfully as she pondered Grimmjow's words. "But most people celebrate the fact that they lived one year longer, instead of advancing closer to their death. It might not sound that exciting to you, but last year, all of my friends got together and threw me a surprise birthday party."

With the memory fresh in her mind, Orihime gave a faint smile.

"It was really great." Orihime finally said after a short pause. Grimmjow glanced over at her briefly as she continued to smile. He had seen her smile quite a few times, but this one actually seemed genuine, where as the other smiles he had seen had just seemed forced.

"Why the hell are you thinking of birthdays all of the sudden anyways?" Grimmjow muttered. Upon hearing the question, Orihime turned to the window in her room as a more melancholic look integrated itself in her smile.

"My birthday is next week…September third." Orihime said quietly. "I should be happy that my other friends are safe, but I guess that I'm a little sad because I can't spend my birthday with them if I'm here."

"It's just a stupid, meaningless day anyways." Grimmjow said as he pushed himself from the wall. "Just like every other day."

"Well, I wouldn't say that everyday is meaningless…" Orihime frowned slightly.

"Heh, try livin' here for a while." Grimmjow said bitterly.

Looking over at him, Orihime scolded herself for being selfish when he probably had it a whole lot worse than she ever did. She was sure if she spoke about Grimmjow to any of her friends, they would tell her how much of a homicidal maniac he was, but she couldn't help but feel a little sad for him.

"Well, if you can't remember your birthday, just make one up!" Orihime said, brightening her expression. "Is there a day you do like?"

"I'm dead. That kind of defeats the purpose of a birthday, don't ya think?" Grimmjow said flatly.

"You're always so difficult." Orihime sighed. "Fine…let's see…you'd probably be a Scorpio…and you're number six in the Espada…so how about November sixth?"

"I already told you, I don't give a shit!" Grimmjow said in an exasperated tone.

"Yeah. Definitely a Scorpio." Orihime said under her breath. "Alright, then your birthday will be November sixth."

"Fine, whatever." Grimmjow said with a roll of his eyes. "I'm leaving, so you can think about all this birthday stuff by yourself."

He flexed a little before turning around and leaving the room. When she thought that he had completely shut the door, she once again turned to the window, basking in the moonlight that accentuated her mourning expression.

Unknown to her though, Grimmjow had kept the door open just a crack, as her behavior seemed a little suspicious today. However, when he saw her turned to the window, he knew that it was nothing that he should worry about, she was just angsting again. Sure, he couldn't see her expression from his position, but he had learned that if she looked out the window, she obviously was disheartened about something.

The first time he noticed it was after Ichigo and his gang had attempted to save her, but Orihime only drove them away after seeing them all get gravely injured in battle. Grimmjow could tell that she wanted to go with them, but knew she couldn't for their sake.

The second time was a few months later when Orihime was in an especially chatty mood and talked about the silly dreams she had for the future. Although Grimmjow was usually annoyed with her babbling, even he stood in stupefied silence as she talked about her former ambition of being a giant, destructive robot. When she moved on to her realistic dreams for the future though, she had turned to the window as her smile neutralized.

Now once again, she was turned to the window, but Grimmjow was mystified as to why she'd be so damned depressed this time. Why the fuck should one day out of the entire year mean that much? More importantly, why the hell was he still thinking about it?

He had better things to do than worry over the girl. In fact it was demeaning to watch over her every day. To say that he didn't feel something stir inside him though while watching the girl, even if he didn't quite understand it himself, would be a lie.

The fact that he didn't understand why he felt something for the woman pissed him off. He was the Sexta Espada, the sixth strongest in destructive power of all Arrancar. Any sort of emotion that could hold him back in battle was detrimental to himself, which was why he knew that he had to cut himself off from the prisoner.

That's exactly what he did through the week after that. He would still visit her, but his visits reminded Orihime of Ulquiorra's where he'd make sure she hadn't killed herself, make sure she ate her food, and then left the room immediately. She would try desperately to start a conversation with the blue-haired man, but he'd only glare at her, or worse, ignored her completely.

With her birthday approaching closer and closer, she tried to move the thought away from her head, but no matter what, the fact remained that it would be the very first birthday that she spent alone. There was nothing she could do about it though. The idea of Ulquiorra, Aizen, Gin, and Tousen getting together to throw her a birthday party was somewhat amusing, but also very, very scary. On that thought, Orihime figured that it was probably best that her birthday would be lonely.

On the day of September 3rd though, Orihime still felt depressed as she thought about her friends. To make matters worse, no one stopped by her room. Not even Grimmjow stopped by to make his daily visit. As much as she knew how much she should hate him, she felt more disappointed that he didn't even stop by. She knew that she shouldn't have expected him to, but she was an optimistic type of person.

Seeing no other reason to celebrate the rest of her lonely birthday, she lied down on her bed and shut her eyes tightly. She didn't feel tired at all, but if she could fall asleep, her birthday would be over sooner. As she droned out her mind, in an attempt to fall asleep faster, she didn't even twitch when her door creaked as it was opened. Even when the sole sound of footsteps echoed through her room, she remained on her bed. The sound grew louder and louder until it ceased close to her bed.

"C'mon. Get yer ass outta bed." A familiar voice said impatiently.

Finally snapping out of her trance, Orihime rubbed her eyes and sat up in her bed. Adjusting her eyes to the light emanating from the doorway, she blinked a couple of times, before shifting her gaze to her late night visitor.

"G-Grimmjow?" Orihime muttered.

He didn't respond as he grabbed her wrist and pulled her behind him as he headed toward the door. Not liking being dragged around, Orihime caught up to him by hastening her pace.

"Where are we going?" Orihime asked.

"Just shut up and follow me." Grimmjow replied.

Orihime looked over at him as she continued to walk. When he didn't even look at her, Orihime figured that Aizen must have sent Grimmjow to fetch her so that he could further use her powers to aid in his destructive plans. She vowed that she would resist him with all that she had in her, but doubted that she could triumph over him. Feeling defeated already, she sighed as she continued to follow Grimmjow through the halls.

Once Grimmjow passed the throne room though and continued to walk through the halls until he approached a door to the outside, Orihime looked over at him with a bewildered expression.

"Grimmjow, where are we going?!" Orihime asked with more urgency.

Grimmjow still didn't respond as he casually kicked the door open and walked through, pulling Orihime with him. She struggled to keep up with him, as the harsh winds outside of Las Noches blew against her. After some distance though, Grimmjow finally stopped as he made some kind of motion with his hand. A moment later, a gateway appeared and Grimmjow turned toward Orihime with a stern look upon his face.

"Go." He ordered.

Not comprehending the situation in the least bit, Orihime looked over at Grimmjow as if he were crazy. Had he been avoiding her the past week to try to pull this test on her? Did he want to ridicule her? Upon looking as his serious expression though, Orihime was even more confused.

"Grimmjow, what is the meaning of this?" Orihime finally asked.

"What the fuck does it look like? This is your chance to get the hell out of this shit hole!" Grimmjow answered with a scowl.

"But if Aizen-sama sees this-" Orihime started, but was immediately cut off.

"Aizen won't see shit! The dumb prick is off doing something else in another dimension!" Grimmjow countered.

"But if we're both gone-" Orihime tried to reason, but was once again cut off.

"Who the hell said that we were both going? Now get yer ass moving before I change my mind!" Grimmjow answered, his eyebrows furrowing in anger.

"I don't understand why you are doing this." Orihime said after some thought. She considered taking Grimmjow up on his offer, but she had vowed to stop Aizen's plans. "But I still have something I must do here."

"How fuckin' stupid can you be?!" Grimmjow yelled in an exasperated tone. "If you plan to stop Aizen, you'll be defeated, it's that simple. The guy isn't stupid though, so he won't kill you, as he still has his uses for you. So instead, you'll be trapped here forever."

"I guess that's a risk that I'll take then." Orihime said with a sigh.

Grimmjow, however, was not satisfied in the least as he was now visibly gritting his teeth.

"What the fuck?!" Grimmjow growled as he resisted the urge to strangle the woman out of pure frustration. "I had to endure hours of you talking about the god damned future. Do you really think you can start the family you want so damned bad here? First of all, all of us are dead, meaning there will be no goddamned brats of your own running around here. Second, do you have the faintest fucking clue how most of the Arrancar look at you here? Do you even know how many times I've had to tell Nnoitra to go fuck himself after hanging around your quarters? If you stay around here, you'll be nothing!"

Upon hearing Grimmjow's outburst, Orihime's confused expression softened as she started to understand why he was doing this for her. She had babbled practically her whole life story to the man in an attempt to alleviate her loneliness, but she hadn't expected that he actually listened to her.

Grimmjow calmed himself down a little, but still looked at her somberly.

"There is no fucking future here, don't be so naïve to think that you can change that fact." Grimmjow muttered. "Go now, while you still can."

"Grimmjow…thanks." Orihime said as she humbly put her head down. She turned around to the portal and stared at it before turning back to him. "But I told you already, I'm not going."

"You said how great your birthday was last year, so quit being so damned depressed about it and go spend it with that damned Shinigami and your other damned companions." Grimmjow suggested, not wanting to have to use that card, but it was the only one he had left.

"So you did remember my birthday." Orihime said with a slight smile.

"Well, when you jabbered on about it for a damned hour, it would be pretty fucking hard to forget it." Grimmjow replied.

Orihime knew she didn't talk about it that long, and she had only mentioned her birthday once, so she knew at this point that the Espada was just trying to cover himself. However, she knew it was best to not press the issue any further, as she knew his tendency to snap when he was frustrated.

"I'll miss my friends this year…but I'm okay with celebrating it here." Orihime explained. "I'm happy just knowing that you would do this for me."

"You're really not going to go through, are you?" Grimmjow said with a defeated groan. Orihime shook her head in response. A minute later, Grimmjow closed the portal. "Fine, but remember that you were the one to stay here. Not Aizen, not Ulquiorra, not me. This is all you."

"Yeah, I knew that from the start." Orihime responded.

"Tch. C'mon, let's go back then." Grimmjow said as he turned around. Orihime did not move though as she stared at the moon.

"Can we stay here just for a couple of minutes?" Orihime asked.

Grimmjow gave her an annoyed look, but only grunted in reply as he walked over to stand by her side. After a couple of minutes, Orihime noticed that she felt a little chilly, even with her long sleeved outfit. She shifted her gaze away from the moon and looked over at the man beside her.

"Don't you ever get cold?" Orihime asked, noticing that he didn't seem the least bit affected by the cold, despite wearing nothing under his opened jacket.

"Nope." Grimmjow answered simply, not moving his eyes from the moon.

Orihime was still curious though, keeping her gaze on his face. She started to raise her hand, but hesitated, as she knew that Grimmjow probably wasn't too keen on physical contact that didn't involve dismemberment. However, her curiosity got the best of her as she raised her hand to touch his face. As she had thought, his skin was freezing to her touch.

Upon feeling her gentle touch upon his face, he looked down at her face, which looked up at his with concern. Feeling flustered by his gaze, Orihime looked away. When she felt his hand brush against her cheek though, she looked up at him again. She blushed slightly as he gazed intently at her. Then when she noticed that his face descended slightly, she felt her heart beat in her chest. Grimmjow moved his face a little closer to hers, but then blinked once, as if he had a sudden realization. He then promptly moved his hand away from her face and turned toward Las Noches.

"Your skin is freezing. If you get a damned cold, Aizen will suspect something." Grimmjow said as he walked ahead, leaving a very flustered Orihime to follow behind him. Glancing briefly at her, he chastised himself for nearly kissing the girl in the open. He could at least admit to himself that there was a part of him that desired her, but he could not let himself act on those impulses.

It was strange to him. Normally he wouldn't give a shit and just do whatever his instinct told him to do, but there was another part of him that felt something deeper than just raw lust for the prisoner. Because of those feelings, he could not allow himself to make a move on her, as it would further doom her to the world of nothing that he lived in.

"Hey Grimmjow…" Orihime finally spoke as they approached the doors of Las Noches.

"What is it now?" Grimmjow replied.

"There's another reason why I wanted to stay here, you know." Orihime said and gave a smile. "We still have to celebrate your birthday too!"

"I told you already that I don't need a damned birthday!" Grimmjow fired back, regaining some of the characteristics that Orihime was used to.

"You don't have to be so difficult all the time." Orihime said with a sigh. "It's not like I'm going to tell everyone else about it."

"Fine." Grimmjow breathed as he approached the door to Orihime's room and opened it. "But don't you dare make a cake. The first and only time that Aizen let you cook, you gave everyone indigestion who was stupid enough to eat your food."

"Yeah, I guess I shouldn't cook around here anymore, should I?" Orihime said with embarrassment. Grimmjow snorted in response as he turned around to go out of her door again.

"Grimmjow…" Orihime called out. He stopped, but didn't turn around, so she continued. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me." Grimmjow replied. "I didn't do shit."

With that, Grimmjow left the room. Orihime smiled a little, but as the thoughts of the near kiss flooded her mind, she felt her face redden. She had long thought that he was the enemy, but the fact was that she had felt disappointed when he had pulled away. But then again, she had set his birthday about two months from that day.

Perhaps then, not only would she have found a way to triumph over Aizen and give Grimmjow the freedom she knew he desired so much. But also, maybe she could have the courage to make the first move.

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Author's Notes

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Happy birthday, Orihime! Despite all the trauma I usually put you through in my fanfics, I heart you! 3 3 3 3

The most fun part about writing this entire thing was creating the argument. Seriously, I never realized how much fun arguments are to write until now. 3

Concerning the title of this piece, I have a feeling that there will be some confused people. As a person deeply interested by psychology (as I was diagnosed with Autism when I was five, although it might actually be Ausperger's Syndrome), I constantly read upon interesting disorders and such on Wikipedia. But anyways, Lima Syndrome is basically the opposite of Stolkholm Syndrome (I'm sure most of you must know what that is by now, look it up if not) in which the behavior of kidnappers becomes more sympathetic to their hostages.

Because I thought "Birthday" was a really boring title. ;

And concerning Orihime's choice for Grimmjow's birthday, I immediately knew that he had to either be a Leo or a Scorpio. But if he were a Leo, that would mean he'd have to wait almost an entire year for his birthday. And that would kind of suck for him. Besides, Scorpio is considered the sexiest of the signs, so I figured it suited him. XD

And guess what? Supposedly Virgos (Orihime's sign) and Scorpios are supposed to be pretty compatible with each other. :D

Yeah, I'm an Aquarius/Pisces cusp, so the Pisces side of me loves weird stuff like astrology. . ;


	9. Stockholm Syndrome

Rating: M for smex and language.

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Stockholm Syndrome

By Renegade Raine

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When the door to her room had opened suddenly, Orihime quickly turned her head, as she hadn't detected a strong reiatsu like she did from most of her other visitors in Las Noches. Once she saw that it was Grimmjow who was staggering into her room though, she stared at him in concern.

"You got yourself in another fight, didn't you?" Orihime spoke with a hint of disappointment while looking at his bloodied chest.

"What? You expect me to become a pacifist? Screw that." Grimmjow muttered. "You know who I fuckin' am, right?"

"I know, I know." Orihime sighed. Knowing it would be foolish to try to scold him further, she moved toward her bed and patted a spot to signal Grimmjow to sit next to her. He picked up on the hint and took a seat on her bed.

Orihime's eyes scanned the wound on his chest for a moment before she put a hand out and quickly healed the area by his scar. In the past, she would have had to recite a little something before she could use her Shun Shun Rikka, but in the past year that she had spent in Hueco Mundo, she had taught herself how to effectively use her powers with less effort. In less than a minute, the previously wounded skin was now looking as it did when she saw him the night before. However, his scar from his fight with Ichigo was still there, and for some reason it still bothered Orihime.

"I can have that scar healed, you know." Orihime tried to passively suggest to Grimmjow. "Then you wouldn't get nearly as many chest injuries that you usually sustain during your fights!"

"I told you before, woman, I'm not gettin' rid of that thing until the Shinigami gets what's coming to him." Grimmjow sneered. Orihime sighed again and looked down at the ground, but not for long, as Grimmjow grabbed her chin and pulled it up to kiss her hard.

Although she was caught off guard at first, Orihime quickly opened her mouth to allow him more access. By now, she was used to his sudden advances to the point where her body craved his attention. Attention she got, as she was pinned to the bed and felt his mouth on her neck seconds later. Sensing that he was in an eager mood, to say the least, Orihime reached up and carefully undid the top part of her outfit and dropped it on the floor.

With more access of her skin granted to him, Grimmjow slid his hands down to her shoulders and moved his lips down her neck. He paused as his mouth reached past the collarbone area and reached an arm around her back. Although he had trouble with the damnable part of her clothing, better known as a bra before, after countless times of removing the garment, he had become somewhat of an expert after Orihime had finally gotten frustrated with him ripping through all of her other bras. After she had threatened to tell Aizen to order him to buy her more bras, he had listened intently to her explanation on how exactly one was supposed to go about removing a bra the correct way.

With no obstacles in his way, Grimmjow dropped Orihime's bra with the rest of her clothes on the floor and brought both of his hands down to knead her breasts, while his mouth traveled down to her cleavage. He ran his tongue across one nipple before moving his head over to the other and suckling it briefly.

Already she was quietly moaning his name, but it wasn't enough for him. He slid his hands down her waist and settled them on her hips before pulling her skirt down. Grimmjow then moved his head down from her breasts and bit down slightly on the skin above her panty line. Orihime yelped a little from the unexpected action, but it didn't bother her as he licked over the tiny wound a second later.

"Grimmjow…is something wrong?" Orihime asked, as she thought it was unusual that he was lavishing her entire body with that much attention. Typically, he usually did a little foreplay, but it was usually limited to the breasts. However, just as Grimmjow pulled her underwear down, she realized just how far down Grimmjow was willing to go this time.

"Yeah." Grimmjow said huskily and grinned. "If you're still able to make a coherent sentence, I'm not doing my job well enough."

Orihime felt Grimmjow's hands skim from her rear and up her thighs. Before she could protest what she knew was coming though, he slowly ran his tongue over the length of her womanhood. He then gave another lick before plunging his tongue within her. Grimmjow could hear Orihime groaning, but it still wasn't enough. He delved his tongue in her deeper and brought his face closer to her as he flickered his tongue inside her.

Orihime was clearly enjoying the things that Grimmjow was doing to her body as her body was arched and the sounds of her keens echoed not only in the room, but also in the halls of Las Noches.

Finally satisfied with her reaction, Grimmjow stood up and slid his jacket off. When Orihime moaned his name, desperate for his touch, he reached down with a hand and rubbed against her as he removed his pants. He then leaned over her and slithered his hands up her thighs, spreading them apart to position himself.

Grimmjow glanced down at Orihime, whose face was flushed even more than usual. A corner of his lips turned upwards as he put a hand on her rear and entered her at a slow pace. Orihime tipped her head back and let out another moan.

"Grimmjow…" Orihime muttered, but before she could beg Grimmjow to go faster, he brought his face down to silence her with a kiss. She pulled away though to let out a moan once he pulled out of her at the same, slow pace.

Figuring that he tortured her enough already, Grimmjow thrusted into her at a more normal pace. However, she still wasn't moaning his name as loud as he wanted her to, so he brought a hand down to grip her ass as he pushed into her deeper at a quicker speed.

Even while he was in the middle of one of his passionate encounters with the girl, he could sense a very big reiatsu headed toward his way. Normally, this would be the time that he would instinctively reach for Pantera, as the adrenaline would flow through his body that constantly lusted for battle.

Not this time though.

He continued to ravage the girl as he felt the reiatsu approach closer and closer to the room. Orihime must have sensed something as well, as a curious look formed upon her face. Grimmjow, however, wiped that look off of her face as he brought her hips up a little to go just a little deeper. Orihime moaned loudly, causing Grimmjow to grin when he sensed that the reiatsu presence paused for a brief moment before rushing toward the room in haste. Moments later, the door to the room was blasted open, and Grimmjow didn't need to wait for the smoke to clear to know who it was.

"What the hell are you doing to Inoue?!" a man yelled, charging into the room. Once the smoke cleared though, and he saw what it was exactly that he was doing to her, the orange-haired man stared in disbelief for a second before promptly turning his face to the side.

"What the hell does it look like I'm doing?" Grimmjow responded with some difficulty, as he was still thrusting into Orihime.

He gripped his zanpakuto and started to pull it from behind him, but Grimmjow only smirked at him.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Grimmjow chided. When Orihime reached her climax seconds later, and moaned out Grimmjow's name, he had to resist the urge to die of laughter of the stupefied look upon the Shinigami's face.

"S'right, Shinigami." Grimmjow whispered and gave a slight groan as he reached his climax. When he regained his senses, he looked over at Ichigo, who was still looking to the side. "The woman likes it."

"You bastard, what have you done to her?!" Ichigo growled.

"The better question is what haven't I done to her?" Grimmjow mused while pulling out of Orihime. "I know all of the spots that make her hot. Can you name even one, Shinigami?"

" Grimmjow, don't do this!" Orihime spoke, as she quickly grabbed a sheet on her bed and covered herself with it. When Ichigo's only response to Grimmjow's question was shuddering in rage, Grimmjow gave a smirk.

"As I thought…pathetic." Grimmjow sneered. "And to think you could have had her so many years ago, if you wanted to."

"You're going to pay for what you've done to her!" Ichigo said as he charged toward Grimmjow, ignoring the fact that he was still completely naked.

"Oh?" Grimmjow drawled. When he saw a familiar orange shield form in front of him, blocking Ichigo's attack, he gave a laugh.

"I…Inoue-san…what are you doing?" Ichigo stuttered.

"He might not be the best person in the world. But if you kill him…" Orihime explained, with her face taking on a darker expression than what Ichigo was used to. "…I'll never forgive you, Kurosaki-kun."

"What…what the hell?" Ichigo muttered.

"I told you already, Shinigami." Grimmjow said as he picked up his pants off the floor and started to put them on. "Saving the girl is useless…because she's mine."

"Inoue…you know what he is, don't you?" Ichigo said, trying to reason with her.

"Yes…better than anyone." Orihime responded. "He's the only one that kept me company in the last year."

"Inoue…" Ichigo muttered, not knowing what to say at that point.

"Thank you for coming, but you can go home now." Orihime said. "You don't need to save me."

"Oh hell no! What am I going to tell Tatsuki? She made me promise that I'd bring you back!" Ichigo exclaimed. Upon the mention of her best friend, Orihime took on a more melancholy expression, before looking upon him firmly.

"Tell her that I'm sorry, but I don't need her protection anymore." Orihime said.

"Screw that! Not only is Tatsuki worried about you, but everyone else is too! Maybe Tatsuki will understand, but what about Chad, Ishida, Rukia, and everyone else back at home?" Ichigo yelled and started to advance toward her. "Get your clothes on, I'm taking you with me!"

"Tell them that I'm sorry to them as well." Orihime answered. "I don't want to have to do this, but if you get any closer to me, I won't hesitate to use my powers. And just to warn you, Tsubaki won't miss."

Speechless, Ichigo stared at Orihime. He had trained for an entire year to be able to bring Orihime back home. However, the time that had passed was what the real enemy was. Orihime was a kind person, so it shouldn't have been surprising to Ichigo that it was possible for her to bond with anyone, especially after being around them for an entire year.

"You heard the girl, didn't you?" Grimmjow said. "All this time you've been training to beat me…it's useless. I wasn't just talkin' shit when I said that there was no way that you could kill me."

"Please go." Orihime said, ignoring Grimmjow. "I really don't want to have to hurt you."

"Just whose side are you on?" Ichigo asked.

"I don't know anymore." Orihime said with a sigh. Orihime blinked once, seeing something form behind Ichigo, before she looked back at him and stood up. "Goodbye…Kurosaki-kun."

She pushed Ichigo with one hand and held onto her bed sheet with the other. Ichigo fell back and didn't even notice that Grimmjow had opened a portal behind him before it was too late. It suited him though, as he already had to deal with the fact that he had waited too long to try to save someone dear not only to him, but to several other people. How would he explain to everyone that he had failed so miserably in his rescue attempt?

Knowing that the battle between the Shinigami and Aizen had gotten even more complicated, Ichigo could only throw his head back and curse in the lone streets of Karakura Town.

Meanwhile, back in Orihime's room, Orihime had finally gotten dressed, but kept her back turned to Grimmjow, who was still lying back on her bed. Grimmjow noticed her trying to ignore him, and initially tried to call her, but she still hadn't turned around. A little peeved, Grimmjow narrowed his eyes a little, but then further reclined himself as he gave a sigh.

"Fine, you wanna heal the scar? Have at it." Grimmjow said. That got her attention. Turning around, Orihime looked at him curiously.

"Really?" Orihime said.

Remembering the look upon the Shinigami's face when he had walked in on him and Orihime doing…very naughty things, Grimmjow gave a wide grin.

"Yeah." Grimmjow answered. "I don't see any reason why I should keep it any longer. After all, the Shinigami will never get over this one."

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Author's Comments

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Yeah, I'm an evil bitch for releasing this on Orihime's birthday. Not only am I forcing her to smex Grimmjow…again, but Grimmjow totally planned on Ichigo walking in on them. Because, you know, he's a bastard like that.

But I sort of had this idea in my head for a while, but I just needed a good reason for it to happen. With Grimmjow having a case of the Lima Syndrome in the previous oneshot, I figured "Why not have one with Stockholm Syndrome?"

And this thing was born. The saddest part? This isn't anywhere near the most twisted idea that's crossed my mind. TT


	10. Bad Kitty

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Bad Kitty

Theme #16: Appropriate; Are You Sure?

By Renegade Raine

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She had seen him this way once before, but yet Grimmjow's released form still frightened her a little as she watched him battle from the sidelines. After Ichigo's invasion of Hueco Mundo about three years ago, some of the Arrancar grew the courage to rebel against Aizen, creating a sort of civil war in the world.

For the more non-threatening Arrancar rebellions, an Exequias squad was sent to handle it. But for rebellions that were either large in number, or just had someone in the party who had considerable power, at least one Espada was sent to handle it. Normally, Grimmjow was sent alone and could handle it with no problem, but after he came back with a particularly nasty looking wound last time, Orihime had insisted on going with him.

Orihime felt a little bad that she would be assisting someone who would be killing a couple of creatures, just because they had the guts to stand up. On the other hand though, she didn't like seeing Grimmjow in pain either. So she had initially asked Grimmjow to take her along with him, but when he refused, she brought up the situation to Aizen, who had ordered Grimmjow to allow her to accompany him.

"Listen, when we get there, you stay the hell out of my way." Grimmjow ordered. "You also might want to do that shield thing too, as I'm sure whatever bastard I have to deal with today will probably want to attack you too, since you're with me."

"I know all of that already." Orihime responded. "But you won't have to worry about me, I won't get in your way!"

"Good, because I think I can detect the guy's reiatsu nearby." Grimmjow commented. "Stay here."

"Oh…alright." Orihime said, stopping in place.

Grimmjow looked over at her for a moment, before he looked ahead to investigate the reiatsu reading a little better. He grinned once he realized that it was a rather powerful one this time and gripped his zanpakuto. He then swiftly took it out and ran his hand across it.

"Grind, Pantera!" he shouted.

Within the next instant, a surge of power blasted around him. When the bright light faded, Orihime looked at the back of Grimmjow's hair, which now reached far below his neckline. Her eyes then traveled to his claws, which replaced his regular, human-like hands. Grimmjow looked behind at her one more time and grinned at her with his sharp, pointy teeth.

"That outta bring the rats out, don'tcha think?" Grimmjow commented, before he sensed something and turned around and laughed. "HAHAHAHAHA! Here they are now!"

Gleefully, Grimmjow raced ahead at a supersonic speed and jumped to meet his enemies in the air. Concerned, Orihime first made herself a shield and then tilted her head up to watch the fight in the air. In the past, she would have had trouble making out exactly what was happening in battle, but after witnessing several battles in Hueco Mundo, her eyes were trained to be able to follow any battle.

Although she could see the battle well enough, the only sounds that she could hear were crashes, punches, and the occasional burst of laughter from Grimmjow. A few minutes later, a loud growl could be heard in the sky. Orihime took a moment to shield her eyes from the sand that was blown by the impact of the noise before she looked back up again. Once she did though, she watched as he quickly slashed one of the three opposing Arrancars in the face before putting his other claw directly through the stomach. He then shot a blast from his shoulder, which blasted off the head of another enemy.

While the two enemies distracted Grimmjow though, the other managed to move in close enough to hit Grimmjow's neck with their zanpakuto. Luckily, Grimmjow had reacted quickly and moved out of the way before the weapon could cut too deeply. Pissed off, Grimmjow put a claw around the Arrancar's neck before reaching through its chest with the other. A moment later, Grimmjow ripped his hand back out and showed the Arrancar its own heart. Grimmjow looked at the Arrancar who stood still for a moment, but his lips formed into a smirk as the Arrancar fell back to the ground. Grimmjow then crushed the organ in his hand and let the remnants fall to the ground.

Although Orihime had watched several battles, watching Grimmjow rip out the Arrancar's heart made her feel a little sick. Most of the other Espada simply sought out to get rid of their target as soon as possible, but Grimmjow seemingly liked to torture any enemy who got the better of him, even if for just a second. Nevertheless, Orihime was still relieved that he seemingly didn't get hurt too badly.

"I told you that I didn't need your help." Grimmjow sneered as he approached her. Orihime's attention though was drawn to the gash in his neck.

"Let me heal that for you." Orihime suggested.

"Why bother? The guy barely nicked me." Grimmjow said in defiance.

"Please?" Orihime begged, looking up to Grimmjow's feral blue eyes. "If we come back to Aizen-sama and you still have that cut on your neck, I'll only look incompetent."

"Tch. Fine." Grimmjow said with an annoyed tone before sitting down and leaning against a nearby barren tree. Orihime then knelt down a little and began healing the flesh in his neck. While doing so, she looked up at his face, so she could study his released features up close.

While some features, like the markings growing from just under the eyes to seemingly all around his eyes to his ears, were a little strange to look at, other features were rather nice. For instance, it would be nice if Grimmjow's skull fragment stayed close to his hairline, rather than his jaw, as it sometimes irritated her face when he would make out with her. And although his hair now resembled the style of the mullet an eighties rocker would sport, she still thought that the hair looked nice on him. In conclusion, Orihime thought that he looked surprisingly beautiful. The most endearing part though, were the elongated ears that would twitch every now and then as she healed him.

Finally, the wound closed up on Grimmjow's neck, and Orihime moved her hands away. But yet she didn't stand up as her eyes lingered on Grimmjow's ears. She reached her hand out, but stopped herself.

"Can I…touch it? Your ear, I mean?" Orihime asked. Obviously annoyed, Grimmjow sneered.

"What the fuck do I look like? A cat?" Grimmjow snapped.

Orihime didn't notice it before, but once he mentioned it, Grimmjow actually kind of look like a cat. The very idea of Grimmjow looking exactly like a cat and chasing after a ball of yarn, rather than whichever random person pissed him off that day, was both a scary and terribly amusing thought. It was more amusing though, as she desperately tried to keep herself from laughing.

"What is so damned funny?" Grimmjow grumbled as he narrowed his eyes, while his ears went back a little. The expression was so cat-like that this time, Orihime couldn't contain her laughter anymore. "Fine, touch it. But I am not a god damned cat!"

Orihime was a little surprised, but put a hand out cautiously to touch one of his ears. As she had thought, the fuzz on his ear was soft to the touch. She thought about asking if it would feel good if she scratched behind the ear, but she already knew that she was trying his patience enough as it was. Instead, her eyes traveled down to look down at the little bit of his chest that was exposed, which only confused her a little. If he grew claws, a tail, and very sharp teeth, why the heck did he still have at least a little portion of his human chest, along with his scar, in his released form? This time, she could not alleviate her curiosity.

"Grimmjow…just how many human parts do you keep in your released form?" she finally asked.

He looked irritated that she was still bothering him about his released form at first, but when Grimmjow saw her eyeing the rest of his body, his lips turned upwards slowly. When Orihime looked up and saw his grin, she had a feeling that she'd regret asking that question. When Grimmjow stood up, Orihime stood as well, thinking that he was going to head out. However, he instead took a step ahead of Orihime, turned around, and trapped her by putting a claw by both sides of her head on the tree.

"You wanna see just how human I am?" Grimmjow drawled in a lecherous tone.

"I didn't mean it like…" Orihime trailed off and blushed when Grimmjow slowly licked a line up her face. "…that."

"Oh?" Grimmjow commented with a phony surprised look, but grinned again. "Why not?"

"Because…because this isn't appropriate!" Orihime stammered. "We should get back to Aizen-sama and report the events of the battle!"

"Tch." Grimmjow hissed, before taking a single claw and ripping the latch to her jacket. "You've had your fun, so now I'm havin' mine."

He then lightly grazed a tooth over one of her shoulders, which was enough to draw just a little blood. His tongue lapped up the coppery liquid, distracting her as he slowly slid a claw down her side.

"Grimmjow…please…" Orihime muttered. "We really shouldn't be doing this now."

He seemingly disregarded her request as he carefully raised her from the rear. When she instinctively wrapped her legs around him, he hiked her skirt up a little and pressed her harder against the tree. Grimmjow listened to her heavy breathing for a moment before slightly grinding against her.

"Does that answer your question?" Grimmjow leered.

"Grimmjow…" Orihime said weakly, knowing that there was nothing that she could say that could make him stop.

"What's your problem now?" Grimmjow asked. "You didn't seem to mind all the other times we fucked."

Although her mind was racing too fast for her to give him a coherent reason, the answer was simple: this was wrong. All the times they had sex in the past was almost never in the same situation, however, whether they were on her bed, against the wall, on the floor, or even if she had her arms in some sort of restraint, he seemingly always did something to make sure she was enjoying it too. Sometimes he would tease and fondle her breasts, sometimes he would slow his pace a little when he was too much for her, and every once in a while, he would reach up and hold her hand as he thrust into her. This time though, his hands were nowhere near her and his head wasn't even facing hers like usual. All of it seemed more like an animalistic need, rather than his usual desire.

"Quit being so nervous about it." Grimmjow muttered. "It's annoying."

He then moved against her again and savored the sound of her moaning quietly into his ear before moving a claw up her skirt. He was about to rip the side of her underwear off, when he suddenly sensed a reiatsu form from just a few minutes before. It was frustrating, but he removed his claw and put down the girl as gently as possible.

"So the bastard ain't dead yet, huh?" Grimmjow commented. "I'm glad. I was wonderin' why that asshole would send me after such weaklings!"

With a wide grin, Grimmjow flexed his neck a little. Before he could turn away though, Orihime held up her torn jacket.

"How are we going to explain this to Aizen-sama?" Orihime asked. Grimmjow only rolled his eyes.

"Obviously the enemy did a sneak attack on us before you were able to activate your shield." Grimmjow shrugged and then turned around. "Now I'm gonna go out to play, so don't you dare mess up my fun!"

He then sped off into the air again to meet the other Arrancar in battle. After blinking a couple of times, Orihime activated her shield again and looked up to watch the fight. Although she was glad that Grimmjow seemingly still had the upper hand in the fight, part of her hoped that the enemy would wear him out enough to make him change into the more humanlike form she was used to.

Because she knew that the animal above her was not the man she fell in love with.

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Author's Comments

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God I missed writing pr0n. Although I guess this really isn't pr0n, is it? I wanted to write at least one of the themes with Kitty!jaw in it, so here it is! I guess the reason why it isn't a full-blown lemon is because I'm slightly confused by the anatomy of Grimmjow's released form. I seriously looked at all sorts of manga scans of his released form to debate whether he did or didn't pack human parts…erm…below the belt. I mean, he has no sign of a bulge, but maybe he just wears a REALLY tight jumpsuit?

Bah. I can't believe I spent so much time debating the issue with myself.

Anyways, my fans that have been with me for a while should enjoy the next oneshot. So many people have asked for my interpretation of the ending of "In This Twilight", that I'm finally gonna give it to ya people. I'm not sure whether it will please or piss off people, but I'm sort of notorious for that kind of thing anyways!


	11. Renaissance

Rating: T, as it's not that bad this time. But you might want to read my In This Twilight fic first, as this is my interpretation of the ending of it, and it WILL be confusing if you haven't read that fic yet.

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Renaissance

Theme #5: Seeking for You

By Renegade Raine

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It had been a month since he reached his destination and Grimmjow was still convinced that going on an impromptu trip to France was the most moronic decision he had made in his life. He had come to the country, hoping to try to piece together the fragments of memory from another life he had. However the results so far were far from helpful.

It seemed like everyone in the country could speak French, and that was a problem, as Grimmjow only understood Japanese, a little bit of English, and Spanish (although he still had no idea as to why he had such an easy time learning the language). He had tried showing some people a picture of the girl that resembled the female in his old memories, but everyone would either not know what he was talking about or would think he was talking about the model from his hometown. Although she did resemble the person he was looking for, he somehow knew that it wasn't her.

He supposed though that he had nothing to lose by traveling to a different country. His life sure as hell wasn't going anywhere in Karakura Town, so it was better that he got away from that place. And although he hated the people in France, he had to admit that they made really tasty food. It was certainly more appetizing from what he remembered eating with that woman, even if he found that he had a mysterious craving for her weird concoctions.

Sometimes he wondered if it was wise to pursue something that seemed unattainable, but he continued to search everyday. He would search an entire town each day, although if it were a bigger town, like Paris, he would spend several days searching before moving on. Every once in a while, he'd run into some moron who would say a lewd comment in French, which he wouldn't understand. But when some would make gestures that even Grimmjow understood, he was often kicked out of whatever establishment he was in, or sometimes even escorted out by the local police, as he would often have the very sorry jackass just barely hanging on to the last threads of their life.

As the days passed by, it became more and more obvious that the woman that Grimmjow was searching for was not anywhere in France, or perhaps anywhere else in the world. He would not let the matter rest in his head though, because the last and only dream he had in Karakura Town seemed far too real to ignore. Plus, he was never the kind to make things out of his imagination, thus Grimmjow was sure that the other memories that he had must have amounted to something significant for him at least. That's why he continued to search for the mysterious woman, as he felt she was the missing link to finding the reason as to why he seemingly didn't mind living in the shitty world that he was currently living in now.

Unbeknownst to Grimmjow though, the very woman that he had been searching for the entire time was watching him from her post very far away from the human world. If she were still just a regular human, the work would be exhausting, as she was always the kind to listen to the pleas of others and try to make everyone happy. However she found that the latter was impossible, as many people's desires constantly contradicted each other's. However, she was able to get over her initial stress by assigning her Shun Shun Rikka to run certain aspects of life on Earth.

With much more free time granted to her, she had more time to watch over the people below her. She remembered when she thought that being God would be like playing a game of The Sims. However, she quickly found out that not even she had control over life. She was more like an architect, designing things she hoped would help life. However, she was glad that was the case, as watching people evolve was always so interesting to her. It made her happy that everyone she knew in her life had achieved their dream, or happiness at least, without having to make a lot of adjustments to their lives.

However, the person she watched the most was seemingly the only person that she knew was having a horrible life. On one hand, she wanted to help him in any way that she could, as she felt bad to watch someone she cared about to suffer so much. On the other hand though, she knew that it would not be fair to everyone else if she were to give Grimmjow so much special attention. All she decided that she could do was watch him and hope that his life would get better. Although she tried to hide her feelings from her Shun Shun Rikka, they knew that she was having some sort of anxiety, and judging from whom she constantly watched over, it wasn't hard for them to figure out why she was so distressed.

"Are you going to do anything about him?" Shun'o asked out of the blue one day.

"It's not my place to interfere with his life." Orihime sighed.

"But Orihime…he's looking all over France for you!" Shun'o exclaimed. "Don't you think you should do something?"

"He'll stop looking eventually." Orihime answered. "Then maybe he can find a purpose to his life."

"I'm not so sure about that…" Shun'o commented. "He seems pretty intent on finding you."

"I've already done too much by entering his dream." Orihime mumbled.

"Yes, you did." Shun'o said. "And now you should be the one to straighten out the matter. Do you really want him to search for something that doesn't exist in the world for the rest of his life?"

"No…" Orihime said as she looked to the ground. "You're right, I should straighten out the matter. Perhaps it would be best to erase all of his memories of myself."

"Orihime, are you sure you want to do that?" Shun'o asked. "Even if he wouldn't be aware of it, it's still kind of cruel."

"I know, but it would be for the best." Orihime said with a melancholy tone. "Besides, I'll go see him one more time before I do it."

"Do you really want him to forget you?" Shun'o asked with a concerned look.

"No." Orihime said after hesitating a couple of moments. She then looked across at her screen at Grimmjow before sighing. "But it's something I must do."

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As Orihime walked into a cheap, dark hotel room, she had a sense of déjà vu when she looked upon Grimmjow's sleeping form. This visit to Grimmjow though was drastically different from her visit to Ichigo's room several years ago. For one, she wasn't as flustered to enter a guy's room as she was back then. Two, Grimmjow didn't seem to have any physical injuries that needed healing. Lastly, Orihime fully intended on having Grimmjow awake as she said goodbye to him.

She approached the bed, but paused to look at Grimmjow's expression while he slept. She couldn't help smiling, as it seemed that even while sleeping, Grimmjow still had his brows furrowed in a way that made him look slightly grouchy. After a few moments, she sat down on an unoccupied spot of the bed and hesitated as she looked down at his left hand, the same that she had healed in his previous life.

She knew that he was not the kind of person who would ordinarily do the little things that most lovers would do, but she disregarded that fact as she raked her fingers with his. Grimmjow twitched a little, before suddenly jolting his eyes open, sitting up, and immediately put his hand around her neck.

"Is that how you greet everyone?!" Orihime said with a slight frown. Grimmjow blinked a couple of times before his eyes went wide with recognition and immediately removed his hand from her neck.

"Gut reaction." Grimmjow explained. "How the fuck did you find me anyways?"

"I know…a lot of things." Orihime said with some thought.

"That didn't answer my question." Grimmjow said flatly. "Okay, then where the hell were you?"

"Very far away." Orihime immediately responded, to which Grimmjow grimaced.

"Okay, these vague answers are pissing me off!" Grimmjow growled. "I know you know something about me that even I have no clue about. The least you can do is tell me what the fuck is up with my memories, since I've looked just about everywhere in this god damned country for you!"

"It was…another life." Orihime answered.

"I figured that much out." Grimmjow said with a roll of his eyes. "What I want to know is what the fuck I did in that life."

"I…I can't tell you." Orihime stuttered.

"Why the fuck not? My life now is a god damned waste, but when I got those other memories, I felt like my life had some kind of purpose. I want to know why the fuck I feel that way!" Grimmjow seethed.

Feeling bad about being responsible for his life, Orihime looked down at the bed for a moment before looking back up into his blue eyes. Raising her hand a little, Orihime figured that she was going to be erasing all of his previous memories anyways as she gave Grimmjow his full memory of his former life. After processing all of the information, he sat quietly for a moment before finally looking over at Orihime.

"So who the hell are you?" Grimmjow asked.

"I thought that your memories would cover that but my name is-" Orihime started, but was cut off by a shake of Grimmjow's head.

"Orihime, I know." Grimmjow said. "I mean, what the hell are you? If you can remember a life before this one and do crazy shit like restoring memories, you're not an ordinary human."

"I was, once. But after you died…I obtained the powers of God and basically pressed the reset button on the world!" Orihime explained.

"So wait…what you're telling me…is that you're God?!" Grimmjow said in disbelief.

"Well, I like being modest…but I guess so." Orihime replied as she scratched the back of her head. Grimmjow continued to stare at her for a couple of seconds before a wide grin slowly formed on his face. He then leaned against the headboard and pulled Orihime closer to him.

"So is sex better as a God?" Grimmjow leered. When Orihime looked dumbfounded by his change of attitude, he pulled her even closer. "Wanna find out?"

"I don't think this is the time for that kind of thing!" Orihime exclaimed and visibly blushed.

"Why not? We did it dozens of times before, didn't we?" Grimmjow said with a raise of an eyebrow.

"That's not the point!" Orihime sputtered, but then quickly regained her composure and looked down at him wistfully. "I came to say goodbye."

"Where the fuck are you going?" Grimmjow asked, his former grin slowly turning into a scowl.

"I can't stay here." Orihime said. "I wish I could, but I have to watch over everyone else."

"Screw that. Give the job to someone else!" Grimmjow argued.

"I can't! I'm the only one who can do it!" Orihime countered.

"I didn't die for you, only to have you leave me like an abandoned fuckin' cat as soon as you didn't need me anymore!" Grimmjow yelled. "If you can't stay here, then take me with you and get me out of this shit hole of a world!"

Frustrated, Grimmjow finally grabbed the back of Orihime's head and brought it close enough to forcibly kiss her. However, she didn't resist for long as she deepened the kiss shortly after. When she felt his hand on her waist though, and felt it slowly going up her body, she pulled away before they could get too carried away.

"I can't take you with me, I'm sorry." Orihime said as she stood by the bed. "You're still alive. Only those who have left their human life can enter my dimension."

"Then kill me." Grimmjow said with a surprising lack of emotion.

"I can't do that." Orihime said. "I can't watch you die twice!"

"Even in my past existence, my life had more meaning after I became a Hollow and later, an Arrancar. I don't care how you do it, just kill me and get it fucking over with."

"I've…gotta go. But I promise that it will get better for you soon!" Orihime said with some hesitation. "You won't even remember what misery is like!"

"Don't you fuckin' leave me." Grimmjow muttered. Orihime turned around to look at him one final time.

"Farewell…Grimmjow." She said quietly before turning around and successfully hiding the tears from him that fell down her face. A moment later, the entire room was engulfed in a yellow light as she opened the door and didn't turn back.

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Grimmjow fluttered his eyes open as he looked up at the white ceiling. He quickly scanned his surroundings and noted that all the other sparse furnishings in the room were just as plain. He had just woke up, but for some reason, he already felt a strange sense of loneliness.

He turned his head over to one side and immediately had to shield his eyes from the bright light. Apparently he had forgotten to shut the curtains the night before. He turned his head back to its original position and sighed. When he felt a foreign sensation through his hair though, he jerked his head up. His expression then lightened slightly.

"You didn't leave?" Grimmjow asked.

"I couldn't." Orihime answered. "I couldn't stand the thought of having the last person who remembered me to forget I ever existed. I guess I'm still weak in that aspect…"

Grimmjow shifted a little and climbed over Orihime. He brought his lips down to Orihime's and silenced her with his tongue. She readily accepted him by wrapping an arm around the back of his neck to deepen the kiss. Although neither needed to come up for air, Grimmjow pulled away after a couple of minutes.

"So is this what they call heaven?" Grimmjow asked.

"I guess that's what most people call it." Orihime confirmed.

"There's a lot of fucking white. It hurts my eyes." Grimmjow complained.

"I made it so you would come here instead of Soul Society, so quit complaining!" Orihime scoffed. "Besides, you can paint the room blue if you really want. It's not like it's a requirement for it to be white around here."

"Che. That'll have to wait." Grimmjow commented and grinned deviously. "After all, I'm still intent on seeing what sex is like on God mode."

"Pervert." Orihime groaned, but yet she didn't lift a finger as Grimmjow's mouth went down her neck. Perhaps Grimmjow's life would have been better if she hadn't interfered at all, or perhaps it would have stayed as an undesirable life, Orihime wasn't sure.

It was funny that when she was a fifteen-year-old human, she had her own ideas of the future. She had sworn to love Ichigo in five different lifetimes, instead though she had not only fallen in love with the enemy at that time, but also an entirely different species.

Although he was brash and often not pleasant to be around, when she saw the pleading look in his eyes when she threatened to leave, she knew that he loved her too, even if she knew he would never be the type to say that out loud.

She now felt a sense of completion. Her friends were successful and happy, no one would ever have to fear Aizen anymore, and as she looked up at Grimmjow staring down at her lustfully, she knew that she had finally figured out how to make him happy. And even if it might have been a selfish thought, Orihime was glad that she would never be lonely again.

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Author's Notes

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You guys asked for it, so here it is: my interpretation of the ending of In This Twilight!

To those of you confused, I had Spanish be one of the languages that Grimmjow understood, since pretty much everything in Las Noches (including Las Noches itself) is named in Spanish, so you'd figure that Grimmjow would be fluent in it just by knowing the names of everything. Even if the thought of Grimmjow speaking it fluently is somehow hilarious to me. XD

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I'm in search of a back-up beta to pick out my typos and/or other grammatical errors. If anyone is interested, let me know!


	12. Sanctified

Rating: M for smex, some language, mentioned violence, and general kinkiness.

Notes: This is the sequel to "Vessel". If you're reading this collection, you PROBABLY already read it, but just in case you haven't, do so now! Also, Orihime is a little out of character, but I tried to make it reasonable as possible. :p

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Sanctified

Theme #34: Demon Master

By Renegade Raine

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"Heaven's just a rumor she'll dispel.

As she walks me through the nicest parts of hell.

I still dream of lips I never should have kissed.

Well she knows exactly what I can't resist."

"Sanctified" – Nine Inch Nails

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He should have known to never submit to her will, but he did, and he was now sitting on a tiled floor, with his arms bound in front of him with chains. He had long given up trying to break free from the chains, as a device that restricted the use of his reiatsu was also crafted into the shackles. He had kicked, yelled, and crashed his own body into the wall in an attempt to get himself out, but the only reaction he could get was the cold response of someone asking him if he was ready to talk yet. Grimmjow would only sneer at them, before they would leave. Even if he truly despised that girl for getting him into this situation right now, he hated his Shinigami captors even more.

He had lost track of how much time he had been locked in the room, but he supposed he should have known that it was coming, after the time he spent with Orihime, fighting at her will, which was better than anything he had ever experienced. Even if he was only the sixth most powerful in the Espada, with the woman by his side, he was unstoppable.

Nnoitra and Ulquiorra had both faced Grimmjow individually, and although the two were ranked above him, he had defeated them easily as Orihime only healed the injuries he sustained during the battle. They had then gone through the rest of the Espada, as well as their Fraccion if they got in the way, staining the walls and floor with the carnage shed from battle.

Even if he was reluctant at first to follow the bidding of the woman who had trampled on his pride, the looks upon the faces of his former comrades as they realized that they would be defeated by an Espada ranked lower than them was well worth the effort. Even if the two combined decimated most who got in their way, Orihime showed signs of her former self, as she demanded that Wonderwice be spared. She was prepared to spare Tousen's life as well, but when he proclaimed that letting her live would only lead to more bloodshed, she had no choice but to have Grimmjow kill him on her behalf.

They had then confronted Aizen, as Gin had either abandoned his side or just knew to escape. Even Grimmjow had seemed a little nervous as Aizen stepped down from his throne and released his spiritual power. Orihime, however, immediately sent Tsubaki over to erase his zanpakuto out of existence. Aizen looked surprised, but not shaken, as he still had his kidou to rely on. With Orihime shielding all of his attacks though, Aizen even resorted to trying to negotiate a partnership with the girl, which was denied as Orihime ordered Grimmjow to finish him off.

With the last of their foes defeated, the insane laughter of Grimmjow had echoed through the rooms while Orihime erased the few bloody remnants of Aizen's corpse off the floor. After a while, his laughter died down and Grimmjow turned his head over to Orihime.

"So what the fuck do we do now?" Grimmjow asked.

"Someone needs to rule Hueco Mundo." Orihime replied. "And I'll be the one to do it."

Even if he knew that she had promised he would be the superior male, that wasn't enough for him at the moment. He didn't want to be controlled by anyone, even if it was her who gave him the power to create the havoc he always dreamed of. It would be a waste though to get rid of her. However, there were ways that women could be controlled.

Quickly grabbing her and pushing her back against the wall, his mouth grazed over her lips. Her mouth parted and he grabbed the back of her hair as he kissed her hard. Noticing her body instinctively drawing closer to his, Grimmjow thought that he had her completely in his control. However, it was at this time when Orihime realized what he was trying to do, and she would not allow it. After all, there were ways that men could be controlled.

She placed a hand on his well-defined abs and slowly slid it down, squeezing her hand past his sash and gently rubbed against his cock. Even if he only paused for a second, it was enough time for Orihime to push him against another nearby wall. She then gripped his member and first pumped at a slow pace. At first, Grimmjow closed his eyes out of pleasure, but when he reached out to touch her, she knew it wasn't enough. She sped her pace a little, causing Grimmjow to inhale sharply and grind himself against her hand. It still wasn't enough though, as Orihime sped her pace even more. Grimmjow now audibly groaned as he threw his head back against the wall and felt himself slide down slowly, as his knees went weak.

As he looked at Orihime's face with glazed eyes and a flushed expression, he didn't even care anymore that she was in control of him. He only hoped that she would never stop. Granting him his unspoken plea, Orihime continued her rapid pace. Even if she was the one in control, she couldn't help but feel a little turned on looking upon Grimmjow's look of total ecstasy. Bringing her face close to his, she met his desperate lips as their tongues flickered against each other. After a few minutes of the combination of her kissing and pleasuring him, he had to pull his head away to groan. He then pushed his hips forward and grunted one last time as he released.

Orihime then slid her hand back out and glanced at the sticky substance for a moment, trying to decide what to do. Making her decision, she presented her hand in front of the man leaning against the wall. Getting the hint, he grabbed her wrist and removed the remnants of himself off her hand in one hard lick of his tongue.

Satisfied, Orihime took a few steps and waited for Grimmjow to regain his composure. Once he finally stood up straight, he looked down at the petite girl and knew that he would never be able to look at her the same way again. Originally, he had thought that she was a weak, vulnerable girl, but he knew that if a mere teenaged and seemingly inexperienced girl could sexually humiliate him, she was not someone he could control. Somehow though, that thought didn't bother him too much.

"I'm sure you'll want to change your clothes, so go ahead!" Orihime said with a slight smile, further humiliating him. "After that though, you can help me get some order in this place!"

She then turned and walked out of the room. Grimmjow only stood for a moment as his mind mulled over the recent events. Just the day before, he had been the Sexta Espada, following the orders of a man he hated with every fiber in his body. Now, in a very bizarre turn of events, he was now the alpha male, under the ruling of a teenaged girl. It was a little frightening that she could do things that drove him wild, without much effort on her part. Even she had a way of making him feel impotent, he still couldn't wait to see what else she could do to him.

It didn't matter though, as Soul Society finally invaded Hueco Mundo a couple of days later, not knowing that Orihime had taken control. Thinking that Aizen was still the one in charge, they were surprised to find nearly all of the Espada massacred in the halls. They then came across Grimmjow alone in a room, who was easily taken down as all Shinigami in the group teamed up to knock him out.

When Grimmjow gained conciseness, he tried to move his hand to shield his eyes from the bright light above him, but found that he couldn't, as both of his arms were tied behind the hard chair he sat in. Realizing he was in the classic interrogation position, he violently struggled to get out, but stopped when it seemed like everything that he did only drained his strength faster.

"Now that you've realized that struggling is futile, perhaps you'd be willing to answer a few questions?" he heard a male's voice say behind him. Grimmjow only snorted in response. "Very well, let's get straight to the point then, shall we? Tell us where Aizen is hiding."

Grimmjow blinked a couple times, but then realized that the Shinigami knew what he knew. Despite his situation, he grinned crookedly and tilted his head back with laughter. Oh, if they only knew the truth! It was so god damned funny, that he thought his sides would become sore with the hilarity of the situation. The person interrogating him, however, didn't seemed as amused as he punched him on the side of the face without the skull remnant.

"I don't see what is so god damned funny about the question, but I expect it to be answered now!" the interrogator spat out.

"Let's just say he's in…a very far away place." Grimmjow grinned, wanting the Shinigami bastards to figure out the truth themselves. Grimmjow was again punched in the face.

"You think this is funny, don't you?!" the man said in rage.

"Yes, I do." Grimmjow responded, not bothered by the abuse. As expected, he was again hit across the face.

"Fine, I'll just say that Gin Ichimaru recently turned himself into Soul Society and hinted that someone else may be on the rise to take over Hueco Mundo. Does he speak the truth?"

"Does anyone ever believe what that asshole says?" Grimmjow responded, noting to himself that Gin was a traitorous bastard after all. Apparently though, the creepy bastard and himself had one thing in common by wanting the Shinigami to figure out the real, bizarre story by themselves. Now the interrogator attempted to strangle Grimmjow, but was stopped by another person.

"The bastard's not gonna talk, lock him up!" he demanded as he knocked Grimmjow out with one final punch.

When he woke up the second time, he found himself in his current situation. After struggling to get out to no avail, he sat down on the floor and leaned against the wall. It was at that moment, when he resented Orihime the most. He didn't care that his face stung from the brutal interrogation experience, or that his entire body was sore from trying to get out of the room. What pissed him off the most was that Orihime didn't even try to save him when he had been ambushed. He didn't know where the hell she was, but he was sure that she must have known that he was being attacked.

Perhaps he was just naïve to think that even if she had used him in every way possible, he was somebody important to her. It was ironic, as he had thought Orihime to be the naïve one, but a lot of things seemed screwed up these days. He would most likely die by the hands of the Shinigami, but he wasn't going to give them the information they wanted like a cowardly bitch. Even if they took away his power and bound his hands in chains, he would kick, bite, or spit on them if any other bastard tried to get information out of him.

For now though, he could only lean back and try to forget how bored he was at that moment. He thought he had detected a large reiatsu, but ignored it, as he figured there were plenty of sources of reiatsu through Soul Society. He thought it strange that it was the only reiatsu he could detect, but he figured that probably just meant that the person was strong enough to patrol on his or her own.

It wasn't until he finally looked up and saw Orihime looking down at him with a sympathetic look that he realized who it was. Grimmjow stared up at her for a few minutes, and then chuckled weakly.

"You bastards know me well, don't you?" Grimmjow spoke. "But you can't fool me, there's no way that bitch would save me. You can take off that silly disguise. Besides, she was wearing different clothes last time I saw her anyways."

"Grimmjow…it's me." Orihime said. Even if she had to put up a stronger façade in Hueco Mundo to control the Arrancar, she couldn't help but feel sad as she looked at Grimmjow's bruised face and listened to his hoarse voice. "You didn't tell them anything about me, did you?"

"The Shinigami? As if I'd tell those fuckers anything." Grimmjow replied, not meeting her gaze.

"Good, then you deserved this." Orihime said as she put her hands out and healed every wound on his body. Even after that though, Grimmjow still didn't want to look at her. "Is there something wrong, Grimmjow?"

"What am I to you? A fucking toy?" Grimmjow growled. "I've done everything that you asked, but when I'm attacked, you didn't do a god damned thing!"

"I'm sorry…" Orihime muttered.

"If you were so god damned sorry, you would have done something!" Grimmjow hissed.

"Well, that's the thing." Orihime said with an embarrassed look. "You noticed I had different clothes, right? Well, I made a trip to my home to get my stuff, and when I got back, I found out that you were abducted."

Grimmjow stared at her incredulously. He had gone through all of that so the bitch could get new clothes?! He sneered and looked away. He was still pissed off. Orihime noticed this, and sighed. She didn't want to have to resort to it, but there was one way she could always use to control him.

"Since you endured so much, I'll let you do whatever you want to me." Orihime said. Getting his attention, Grimmjow raised his head and smirked.

"Alright, let me out of these chains then." Grimmjow said, not wanting to pass up the chance to do all the things he dreamed of doing to her. Orihime, however, shook her head.

"Nope, you have to do it with the chains on." Orihime said. "If you do a good enough job, maybe I'll let you out."

Grimmjow's face fell flat. Of all the things she had ordered him to do, this was by far the most evil. Just when he was beginning to think that she was the girl he had originally thought her to be too!

"You can take your time too, since everyone's distracted with a little something I set up." Orihime spoke.

Grimmjow was even more dumbfounded. She had planned this?! She was truly worthy of becoming the leader of Hueco Mundo. Hell, she was probably worthy of leading the demons in Hell at this rate.

"So are you going to do it or not?" Orihime asked. Grimmjow gave her a weird look, but then got serious as he picked himself up and advanced toward her. He paused for a second before kissing her. After a couple of seconds, he pulled away from her mouth and ran his mouth down her neck. He briefly pulled away to examine the sweater she was wearing, which was blocking a lot of the skin he wanted access to. Normally, he would simply tear the garment off, grab her legs, and have his way with her. However, with his arms restrained, he had to be creative.

Leaning down, he put his mouth around the top button, clenched his teeth behind it, and jerked his head back fast enough to pull it out of place. Spitting the button onto the floor, he got down to his knees and did the same thing with the rest of her buttons. To his dismay though, he found that she was also wearing a bra, and there was no way he would be able to gnaw through that thing. There were other ways he could get around it though.

First, he used his teeth to move the sweater down her arms. Then biting down on one strap, he moved it down far enough to expose one breast to the cold air. Satisfied, he brought his face back up to suck briefly on the crook of her neck before moving down to her collarbone. He then moved his mouth down to her breast and licked across the tit briefly before latching his mouth around it. He suckled it first, but then used his tongue to move against it. Even if Orihime moaned a little, it wasn't enough for her as she moved one hand under her bra to massage her other breast while Grimmjow continued to lavish her right breast.

Even if he could tell she was starting to enjoy what he was doing to her, it wasn't enough. Finally moving his mouth from her tit, he licked a line down her stomach until he got to the waistline of her skirt. He looked around briefly and found the zipper on the side. Taking the zipper in his teeth, he brought it down and allowed the skirt to fall down her legs.

"Lie down." He said, but when she remained standing, he jerked the chain that held his restraint, causing her to fall back on her rear. He grinned as she looked at him between her raised knees, not knowing her position was perfect for him. Arranging himself and the chain, he lied down and licked up her inner thigh, before putting his face between her legs. Using the friction of her cotton panties, he licked a hard line against her womanhood, causing her to lean her head against the floor. Grabbing onto an edge of the underwear, he pulled it down her legs. He then looked up at her lustful expression for a moment before putting his head down to take in her scent.

Finally, he ran his tongue against the length of her womanhood again before flicking his tongue against her clit, causing her to now moan loudly. Reaching her hand down, she threaded her fingers through his hair, gripping his head as he moved his tongue down to enter her. The corner of his lips twisted upwards as he felt her nails dig into his scalp. Still, he continued to move his tongue inside of her.

In the moment he had been waiting for, Grimmjow's restraints were finally broken, and he was free to move his pants down far enough to free his erection. Pulling the panties completely off of her legs, he quickly settled himself between her legs and moved against her hastily. Grabbing his back to steady herself, Grimmjow didn't even care that Orihime left scratch marks by his tattoo, as he was more concerned with getting her to her climax.

Despite all of his work though, Grimmjow was still the first to release. However, Orihime also climaxed shortly afterwards. The two remained on the floor for a while, as they listened to the sounds of combat outside. After a couple of minutes, Orihime attempted to move herself out from underneath him, getting Grimmjow's attention as he pulled himself out of her and stood up to pull his pants back up. Orihime also stood up, as an orange light briefly surrounded her to restore her clothes to their previous condition. Opening a portal, Orihime turned around to him.

"Ready to go back?" she asked. "If you're a good boy, I'll let you do that again sometime."

She then turned around and walked through, not waiting for Grimmjow to respond. Even if he knew that he would never be the one in control, Grimmjow was fine with that as he followed her. He was sure that most people still thought of her as a sweet and gentle fifteen year old, but he knew better. He might be a mere dog in her presence, but as long as he was his queen's favorite pet, he would do whatever she wanted.

Because goddamn, that woman knew how to turn him on.

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Author's Notes

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"Vessel" got a pretty good reaction for seme!Orihime, so I couldn't help but do a sequel, since the idea of uke!Grimmjow is both awesome and strangely hot. XD

Musical influences for this oneshot were brought to you by: Nine Inch Nails (duh) and She Wants Revenge. :D


	13. Abandoned

**Rating: M for smex and language**

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Somewhat Damaged

Theme #18: Lost You Forever

By Renegade Raine

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Thought he had it all before they called his bluff

Found out that his skin just wasn't thick enough

Wanted to go back to how it was before

Thought he lost everything

Then he lost a whole lot more

"I'm Looking Forward to Joining You, Finally" – Nine Inch Nails

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It was suspicious enough when Grimmjow opened the door and found that it was so quiet, that he could hear the creak of the door echoing inside the room. When he stepped inside though, a chill ran through his body, which stopped him dead in his tracks. He focused his energy, but he still could not sense any hint of the woman anywhere in Los Noches. He then stormed out of the room, into the halls. Almost as if he was anticipating his reaction, Ulquiorra watched as Grimmjow glare at him with feral eyes. In rage, Grimmjow grabbed the collar of his coat, not thinking nor caring about any possible repercussions from the action.

"Where is she?" Grimmjow yelled.

"I assume you mean Orihime Inoue," Ulquiorra stated, and then closed his eyes in annoyance. "I suppose that since you were sent on a mission, you would have no knowledge about her escape."

"Escaped?!" Grimmjow spat. "What the fuck, Ulquiorra?! Did you sleep on the job or what?!"

"She escaped while I was dispatching the enemy and also killed Yammy in the process. If you find her, she's considered hostile and is to be killed on sight." Ulquiorra droned.

Grimmjow gritted his teeth as he let go of Ulquiorra's collar and swiftly turned around. Ulquiorra seemed unfazed as he straightened his collar and watched Grimmjow with cold eyes.

"God damn it." Grimmjow muttered, knowing that he was the reason why she ran away. He didn't want her disappearance to have as much of an effect on his as it was, at that moment, so he tried to tell himself that he was only angry because he would probably be sent on some search and destroy mission for a woman that couldn't even put up a decent fight.

However, he knew that was a lie as anger was not the only emotion that rippled through his body. He would deny it if anyone ever made any accusations of it, but somewhere in his lifeless body, the mixture of regret, anxiety, and feelings of betrayal made him absolutely sick to his stomach. Even if he felt that Orihime forsaken him though, it was his fault, as Grimmjow knew that he shouldn't have even had anything to do with her in the first place.

He remembered back when the red headed woman had first tried to talk to him. In his typical arrogant style, he would try to brush her off. No matter what though, Orihime would never get angry with him and instead would continue to try to initiate conversations with him, because she felt that there was more to him than what her first impressions of him told her.

It intrigued her that someone like him, who appeared sadistic and bloodthirsty, would have enough morals to save her from abuse, even if he profusely denied any claims that he did it for her. She would ignore him though, as she wanted to reach out to him, to find out why he acted the way he did.

Their interaction had started innocently enough, as Grimmjow learned far more than he wanted to about Orihime's past and inner workings. Eventually he caved in too and spoke to the girl about his own life. As the two interacted more, Grimmjow found that Orihime grew bolder, asking him more personal of which he would always answer in some form or another. One day, however, Orihime asked a particularly odd question.

"Can I touch your mask?" Orihime said nervously, scratching the area behind her head. Grimmjow blinked a couple of times before giving her a weird look.

"It's just fucking bone." Grimmjow said in an incredulous tone. Orihime, however, was unfazed.

"I don't care, I'm still curious." Orihime shrugged. Grimmjow continued to glare at her for a little while longer before he sighed and took a seat on her bed.

"Fine, but don't you dare tell anyone else about this, or I'll never hear the end of it." Grimmjow muttered.

Satisfied, Orihime stepped a few paces ahead and reached out to feel the cold, hard surface of his mask. Grimmjow, meanwhile, glanced at her face, full of wonder, as she concentrated on the texture of the foreign surface. His cerulean eyes then trailed down her well-endowed body as he tried to ignore the fact that her body was all too conveniently placed between his legs. He brought his eyes back up to her face, in an effort to steer his mind away from his lecherous thoughts, but as he noticed the faint blush on her cheeks, he found that it didn't help at all.

To make matters worse, whether it was on purpose or not, Orihime's hand slipped past his mask and caused a small area of his skin to tingle upon her contact. He knew then that it was better for him not to get involved with the girl more than he already was, but he thought that he could scare her away from him if he would taste her, even just for one time. He then objected to the suggestion in his mind, however his body betrayed him as he brought his hand up behind her neck, causing Orihime look down at him curiously. He tried once more to control himself, but his desire won over, and instead pushed her head down slightly, so that his lips were able to trail up to capture her own.

While he kissed her, he put his one free hand on her shoulder, wanting his one kiss with her to leave an impression on the girl. However, it was then when she foiled his plans as she actually reciprocated his kiss and even leaned in to feel more of him against her. Noticing that she instinctively moved closer to him, something at the back of Grimmjow's head told him that he should have stopped there. However, he ignored that voice and instead moved his hand up from Orihime's neck to the back of her head, threading his long fingers through her tangerine hair as he ran his tongue across Orihime's bottom lip, silently requesting to be allowed more access. Orihime granted him the permission, opening her mouth slightly to receive his warm tongue.

Slowly, Grimmjow ran his tongue inside her mouth, until it came into contact with Orihime's tongue. Feeling lightheaded already, Orihime moaned in a barely audible pitch, however the noise did not escape Grimmjow's ears. Regaining his senses, he pulled away and promptly walked out of the room, not even bothering to give Orihime a departing look. He didn't have to look back to know that the girl probably conveyed some combination of awe and disappointment on her face, but he told himself that he didn't care. He didn't give a shit if she thought he was some cold and heartless bastard, because that's exactly what he was supposed to be.

He tried to tell himself that it would be the last time he would visit her room, as he had better things to do than act like some god damned high school student going through puberty. However, day after day, he was drawn into that woman's room, unable to resist the hold his lust had on him. Instead of the usual small talk though, more and more he found that there were better ways to occupy her lips. Some days Grimmjow didn't even give Orihime a chance to talk, as he would immediately push her against the wall, the bed, or whatever hard surface was nearby, forcing her to submit to both of their desires.

Every time he came into her room, he would feel disgusted with himself afterwards and always left without saying a word, swearing he would have no more to do with the damned woman, feeling that his more carnal desires would push him off the edge, which would in turn cause him to do something he would probably regret later.

When Aizen assigned him the task of invading Karakura Town to fight Ichigo (along with Ulquiorra, who would monitor any and all new developments with Ichigo's Vaizard abilities.), Grimmjow almost didn't hate his superior for once. It was perfect. Not only would he be away from the woman, but now he had the perfect chance to kill one of the people that were annoyingly dear to her. By the time he'd come back, Orihime would finally hate him, forcing their interactions to stop.

However, his plans fell apart. Gaining even more power than before, Grimmjow was defeated and was barely saved by Ulquiorra, who had collected enough information to report back to Aizen. Later at a meeting gathered to share their discoveries, Grimmjow seethed in a corner of the throne room while Aizen went over the information. He caught Orihime looking over at him, but instead of the expected anger, he found her glancing over at him sympathetically, which only proved to drive him further into madness.

He didn't even bother paying attention to his conscious this time as he felt his feet drag him to the girl's room again. He stood outside of the door a couple of seconds before opening it. He took a couple of steps forward and stared at the back of the occupant of the room, whose back was barely illuminated by the presence of moonlight.

"Grimmjow," Orihime greeted in a low voice, knowing who was in the room without having to hear him speak. She stared up at the window for a few more moments before turning around to look at him with the same look of concern she gave him at the meeting. "Are you alright?"

"Fucking peachy." Grimmjow muttered. Orihime, however, didn't look convinced.

"I was worried about you," she spoke, blushing slightly. "I couldn't sleep well, knowing that you could've died out there."

Grimmjow blinked a couple times, not expecting Orihime to be so compassionate toward him when he was fighting someone she at least considered a friend. He didn't know if it was because she was suffering from a bad case of the Stockholm Syndrome or was just naturally that gentle towards everyone. Either way, he didn't like it. However, he shook it off with a sinister grin.

"Did you want me to kill that Shinigami bastard?" Grimmjow asked.

"No," Orihime said, shaking her head slowly. "But I didn't want you to die either."

"One of us will have to die sometime," Grimmjow observed as his grin faded. "And it's not going to be me."

Orihime cast her gaze downward, knowing there was nothing she could say to change his mind about his rivalry with Ichigo. Instead, she turned to the side a little, walked a few steps, and sat on her bed.

"I don't want you to leave again," her words came out in a barely audible tone. "I feel so…alone when you're not here."

Peeved, Grimmjow stomped over to her bed, grabbed the collar of her outfit, and sneered at her.

"I'm not your fucking friend." Grimmjow growled.

"I know," Orihime said, seemingly not bothered by his statement. "I don't expect you to be."

"Then what the hell do you want from me?" Grimmjow asked. Orihime looked up at his face for a moment, and then sighed.

"Perhaps I should be asking the same question. You were the one who entered my room, after all." Orihime said, crossing her arms. She knew it wasn't wise to make statements as bold as that, but she didn't care. Grimmjow gave her a sour look at first, but then leaned down a little, causing Orihime's body to tip back a little. Placing his lips over her chin, he roamed up to her ear and gave a smirk.

"I think you damn well know what I want, girl." he whispered, causing Orihime to tremble slightly. However, she still managed to shyly look up to his piercing gaze.

"Then take it." Orihime whispered in a hoarse voice.

Needing no further encouragement, Grimmjow pushed Orihime against the mattress and took her lips in a bruising kiss. Although he was being even more aggressive with her than usual, Orihime didn't care as long as he was with her, helping her alleviate the loneliness she felt. Even if she knew it was wrong, she grabbed the flaps of his coat and pulled him closer to her. Roughly, Grimmjow grabbed the front of her outfit and pulled, which freed some of her skin for his mouth to skim over.

While he suckled the nook of her neck, his hands traveled down, pushing the material off of her body. Although his hands were no stranger to her body, being able to run his calloused hands over her smooth skin with no clothes in his way was definitely a new sensation for him. However, he must have taken too much time reveling in this fact, as Orihime looked down at him with pleading eyes.

"Grimmjow…" she whispered.

Snapping him out of his daze, he bit down on the flesh of her neck, not hard enough to draw blood, but definitely hard enough to leave a mark. Orihime cried out in a mixture of pain and surprise, but when Grimmjow snaked his hands around her back to push her skirt down her legs, she moaned slightly as his hands glided down to her rear to move her groin closer to his. Feeling too impatient to toy with her any further, he pulled his hakama off of his body, tossing it to the floor.

His hands were then back on her skin, gripping her as he rubbed his erection against her wet folds. Orihime inhaled sharply and instinctively opened her legs wider. Misty-eyed already, she looked up to Grimmjow with a flushed face. She didn't speak a single word, but she didn't need to, as Grimmjow knew exactly what she wanted him to do just by looking at her. And as much as he didn't want to admit it, there was something about her expression that made him all too willing to fulfill her silent request.

He grabbed one of her legs with one hand and positioned his erection with the other before pushing himself into her. With her tightness around him, Grimmjow instantly closed his eyes and groaned. Orihime, however, didn't seem to be enjoying it as much, as tears streamed down her face. Grimmjow noticed this and figured that it was probably from pain, since it was pretty damned obvious that the girl was a virgin.

Thinking that her pain would subside after a while, he continued to thrust into her. However, when the tears continued to trickle down her face a couple of minutes later, Grimmjow started to get a little pissed off. Sure, he might be the god damned Sexta Espada and was infamous for his violent ways, but fucking a crying woman just wasn't his idea for a good time. He had thought that screwing her would relieve some of his stress, but she was only piling it on him even more. However, the nice thing about sex was that there was more than one position.

He ignored her disappointed glance when he pulled himself out from her.

"Turn over," he ordered, moving back slightly to give her a little room. When Orihime looked up at him quizzically, Grimmjow gave a small grin. "Do it. You'll like the way it feels."

Wiping her tears away with a hand, she obeyed him and turned around, so that her head faced the mattress. A moment later, she felt his hands on her sides, bringing her rear up against his waist. He then removed one of his hands off of her to again adjust his erection while he slid into her folds from behind.

He heard her grunt from the contact, but he took it as a good sign, as she wasn't crying anymore at least. Both of his hands gripped her waist hard, almost hard enough to leave bruises, while he began to move inside her again. This time though, the only crying he heard out of her was out of pleasure.

"So you do like it that way, huh?" he said huskily before hastening his pace.

Now, even if she wanted to, there was no way that Orihime could cry, as she was too busy attempting to balance herself by desperately trying to grab onto the sheets, although they didn't do much to level her center of balance at all.

"Grimmjow…" she moaned, but a particularly hard thrust from him caused her to keen loudly, instantly cutting off what she was going to say.

With his thrusts becoming harder and deeper, Orihime's eyes were again watering up, but it was only because the ecstasy was becoming too much for her inexperienced body. Giving one last cry, she felt her body spasm as she reached her climax. With her vaginal walls tightening around his cock, Grimmjow took a sharp intake of air.

"Fuck, woman…" he said with a groan, releasing himself within her a few moments later.

He took a moment to gather his thoughts before he pulled out of her, and sat down on her bed. After a couple of minutes, Orihime recovered from the high from her orgasm, and also sat up on her bed. When she looked over at Grimmjow though, her combined expression of embarrassment, fear, and regret was enough to make him feel more than a little disgusted with himself. Quickly, he stood up, picked his pants off of the floor, and pulled them back on.

"Grimmjow…please don't leave me here!" Orihime begged, trying to reach out to him as he adjusted his sash. Grimmjow, however, pushed her hands away.

"I've got shit I need to do," Grimmjow growled and turned around with a sigh. "Next time, I don't want to see you cry, understand?"

Taken a little back by what he just said, Orihime blinked a couple of times before looking down.

"I understand."

"Good, because I'm not gonna waste my time with you if you do that shit to me again." Grimmjow warned before leaving her room.

He swore that it would be the last time he entered her room again, because as much as he hated to admit it to himself, he was starting to get attached to the dumb broad. In a world where all that mattered was power though, he couldn't afford to allow himself to be brought down by a goddamned woman who had barely reached puberty.

He had already gone too far with her, but he figured that if he distanced himself from her now, eventually the temptation of her body would finally leave him, and everything could go back to normal like it was before. That way, he could enjoy his high rank of power peacefully and never have to worry about anyone using the woman against him.

However, the stress of every day life at Hueco Mundo was too much for him, and his impulsive streak always won over, carrying his feet back to the woman's room, which almost always led to sex. Sometimes the two would converse for a little while before, if he was in a good mood. However, those times were rare, and more often than not, it didn't take long before he would pull her in his lap and have his way with her, although she would never object to it.

He told himself that there was no love between them, as it felt more like symbiosis as he used her to relieve his stress and she used him to erase the lonely existence she felt. He thought that he made it clear to the woman that there was nothing between them, but when he entered her room one day and found her frantically searching for something, he sneered at her.

"What the hell are you doing?" he asked, tilting his head.

"I lost my necklace! Have you seen one lying around anywhere?" she inquired.

"I don't know what the fuck you're talking about," Grimmjow answered. "You never wear any jewelry."

"Well, that's because I'm afraid that someone will steal it." Orihime said. "My brother gave it to me when I was younger. He told me that the pendant on it was a charm that would help you if you ever lost your way. It might be silly, but since he's dead now, it means a lot to me."

"That's the stupidest fucking thing I've ever head," Grimmjow said harshly. "Are you telling me that you feel 'lost' here? Some fucking necklace isn't going to help you find your way. Especially one from a dead guy."

Orihime glanced up at him as the features on her face slowly fell into disappointment. Grimmjow scowled, as the expression irked him. What the hell was she expecting from him anyways?

Feeling too stressed to deal with her shit any further, he grabbed the back of her head and kissed her, hoping that it would make her forget about that stupid necklace. When she didn't resist his advancements, he continued on, as it again led to sex between the two. However, he noticed that she seemingly wasn't as into it, as she usually was. He ignored it though, figuring it had to do with her time of the month.

Afterwards, the two again sat on the bed in silence briefly, before Grimmjow got up to put his clothes. When he was about to leave, however, the sound of her voice stopped him.

"Grimmjow?"

"What the hell do you want now?" Grimmjow said with annoyance.

"I…um…" Orihime muttered, keeping her head down as she blushed.

"Spit it out, or I'm leaving!" Grimmjow bellowed, baring his teeth at her.

"I was wondering…do you…care about me?" Orihime finally said, raising her head to look at his flabbergasted face.

Grimmjow couldn't believe what she was asking him. Was she fucking serious? His answer was simple.

"Of course I don't," Grimmjow replied. "How fucking dense can you be? I'm incapable of loving anything but myself."

"I see," If she was disappointed, she hid her emotions well, as she looked at him with an expressionless face. She then gave a faint smile, which seemed a little odd for Grimmjow. "I'm sorry I asked. Farewell, Grimmjow!"

Her sudden change of moods seemed off to Grimmjow, but he chalked it up to mood swings. Turning around to leave, he gave a snort, again swearing that it would be the last time he'd fuck around with her.

This time, however, he was right.

He was soon sent on another mission, which he again failed in, raising his stress to an unbelievable level. Of course, once he got back to Los Noches, he immediately started to head to Orihime's room, as she was seemingly the only thing that could ease his agitation. Once he opened the door though, he found himself in his current situation.

He walked through the halls, trying to quell his self-loathing thoughts, as well as fight back the thoughts of concern for the girl that he found was fighting their way through his head. All the conflicting emotions through his head were aggravating, making him want to bash his face in the wall to make them stop.

Just when he thought his madness had reached a new level though, he spotted something on the ground. Curious, he bent down and picked the trinket up with a hand, dangling it before his eyes. When he saw the pendant hanging off of it, he gritted his teeth as he realized what it probably was. Finally, he snapped, as the halls were filled with the sound of his laughter.

He laughed because of the thought of that clumsy girl losing it as she wandered the halls of Los Noches. He laughed because the woman getting so panicked over the stupid-looking necklace that he now held in his hand. But most of all, he laughed because of the irony of it all.

He wasn't sure if it was because he had finally fell off the deep-end or if it was because he suddenly realized something that he should have before, but he suddenly felt the urge to go find her. He knew the idea was stupid, but he didn't care any more. Without further hesitation, he created a garganta for himself and was about to step through, when he felt Ulquiorra approach behind him.

"Grimmjow," he deadpanned. "Where are you going?"

Grimmjow only grinned and looked at Ulquiorra dead in the eye.

"I lost something. I'm gonna go get it back," he replied vaguely.

"If you turn against Aizen-sama-" Ulquiorra said before he was cut off, instantly realizing what he meant.

"Aizen-sama can go fuck himself for all I care." Grimmjow said nonchalantly as he turned around and went through the portal he created for himself, leaving the pale-faced Espada alone in the halls of Los Noches.

As he entered Karakura Town though, he was disturbed to find that he couldn't detect the woman's reiatsu anywhere in the town. However, that wasn't going to stop him, he swore that he would find that girl and make everything right again somehow. Even if he didn't know where to begin, he continued to walk down the street, clutching the necklace in his hand.

Perhaps it was the girl's stupidity rubbing off on him, but he knew he'd find her somehow.

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Author's Notes

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For those of you confused, there will be another part to this that will deal with Orihime's side of things and also wrap up this story.

And I attempted to make both Orihime AND Grimmjow seem at fault for the deteriorating relationship, so hopefully I succeeded there. ;D

Also, I totally didn't mean to get as into the smex as much as I did in this oneshot, but it just turned out that way. The next oneshot won't have any smex though, so I can't get carried away like I did in this entry. XD

Anyways, musical inspiration was once again brought to you by Nine Inch Nails and She Wants Revenge.

What to expect in the next oneshot? More angst, of course! So anticipate "The Great Below" soon to conclude this story!

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Question time, with Renegade Raine

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Blue Quartz Foxy writes:

"I just love the Grimmjow and Orihime pairing and I love 30kisses drabbles, so to me this is the best of both worlds. I love how you characterized everyone, it's believable to the point that I can see their personalities shine through- Grimmjow's surly temper being a plus-

Anyway, I love this drabble set, so if you don't mind I would like to add it into my C2 of favorite stories. If you don't want me add it then just PM to tell me and I'll remove it."

Thank you! 3

And no, I don't mind if you add it to your C2. It's an honor, really.

And to the others who reviewed, thank you! I'm sure I seem like a douche for not getting back to you guys earlier, but I have a very short-term memory! However, I appreciate each and single one of your reviews!


	14. Great Below

**Rating**: Rated T for swearing, some intense violence, and mentioned sexual themes.

Notes: Sequel/companion piece to "Abandoned".

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The Great Below

Theme #10: You Belong to No One

By Renegade Raine

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-----

"Staring at the sea

Will she come?

Is there hope for me?

After all is said and done

Anything at any price

All of this for you

All the spoils of a wasted life

All of this for you"

"The Great Below" – Nine Inch Nails

-----

It had only been a couple of hours since he had left Hueco Mundo, but his presence in Karakura Town was already detected by Urahara's reiatsu detector, while everybody hid and trained in the new underground hideout he made a few months ago, which had the additional effect of masking everyone's reiatsu levels. While everyone else sneered and cursed at the image of the Sexta Espada on the monitors, Orihime looked on in silence as she watched him, trying to figure out why exactly he was seemingly just walking around the town.

Normally, Grimmjow was an easy one to read, as he had sworn that he would kill Ichigo Kurosaki, no matter what it took. However, as Orihime analyzed the expression on his face, she didn't think that he had that intention in mind at the moment. She had been around him long enough to know that when Grimmjow was looking for a battle, a huge grin would cover his face, his eyebrows would furrow in a specific angle, and his eyes would burn like fire in anticipation as he marched forward.

However, as she analyzed him on the monitors, his disposition seemed more distressed as he continuously paused to try to detect any reiatsu in the area. When he would find nothing, he would grit his teeth, clench his fists, and would frantically glance around the area before moving on.

As he continued to walk through the streets, Orihime watched him curiously, wondering what his business was in her hometown. However, as she gazed upon the screens, she noticed that with every step, he was getting closer to her house. Looking down at the ground, Orihime wondered if he was looking for her, but then remembered that he had told her that he didn't even care about her, so she disregarded that thought, even if a part of her wished that it was true.

Wistfully, she gave a sigh and turned away from the screen. Even if Grimmjow was rude and for the most part, immoral, she knew that if he gave even the slightest hint of requiting her love, she would have thrown away everything she had in Karakura Town to be with him in Hueco Mundo, the place she despised with every bit of her soul. However, he had looked her in the eye and told her that he could only love himself.

Orihime realized that she had originally initiated the detrimental relationship they shared, but at that moment, she had never felt more hurt in her life. Perhaps she was being naïve, but she had hoped that Grimmjow saw her more than just a sex toy, but he made it obvious to her that their relationship to him was just a way to pass the time. Although Orihime didn't seem to have too much of a problem with their affair before, she finally had enough. She wasn't sure if it was because she had matured enough to realize what she was doing or if it was because she realized the greater importance was for her to be with her friends, rather than the self-decrepitating relationship she locked herself into, but Orihime knew that she had to leave Hueco Mundo at once, or she would lose the last of her sanity.

So after Grimmjow had confirmed his lack of compassion for her, she put on the cheesiest smile she could manage and bid farewell to him and their relationship. When she was absolutely sure that no one was around, she fled from her room and thought she would make a clean getaway from Las Noches, but when Yammi blocked her escape, she knew that her escape wouldn't be as easy as she had planned. Reaching for her hairclips, she gave the Espada a focused look before silently commanding Tsubaki to erase him out of existence.

Normally, Orihime would be hesitant to use her destructive power, but after learning that her power altered the events of God, rather than harming people, she became more accepting of her power. However, normally she would have at least felt a little pity watching her enemy fade away, but as she watched Yammi perish into nothingness, she didn't feel a thing. It scared her that she had grown so apathetic, but she supposed that it was the effect that Hueco Mundo had on her.

She had then fled from the scene, not even bothering to look behind her until she was well into the desert that surrounded Las Noches. Although she wasn't quite sure of her power's extent, she then summoned her Shun Shun Rikka, hoping they could help her find a way out of Hueco Mundo. Luckily, it seemed to be within her power, and she soon found herself back on the streets at Karakura Town.

She thought it was odd that she couldn't detect any familiar reiatsu traces once she got into town, but she still headed towards Tatsuki's house, as she figured that her best friend must be worried sick about her by now. However, before she could reach her destination, she was stopped by a whole assortment of Shinigami and other humans she knew before she left to Hueco Mundo. Orihime smiled a little sheepishly and giggled.

"Is this supposed to be a surprise party?" she asked. "Because you all sure surprised me!"

The air of apprehension then dropped from the group as most of the group, aside from Ichigo, Ishida, Chad, Tatsuki, and Rukia, all looked at her with a weird expression.

"I told you dumbasses that there wasn't anything to worry about!" Ichigo exclaimed and then gave a sigh. "God, I can't believe he made us bring the entire group to confront Orihime, of all people!"

"Don't you find it odd that she just kind of wandered in here?" Urahara asked. "With as much security they put on Inoue-san here, I highly doubt that they'd let her just come back. So please, Inoue-san, explain to us why you're here."

"Uh…I realized that I wasn't doing any good in staying in Hueco Mundo, so I developed my powers and escaped." Orihime explained. "It's not like I enjoyed it at Hueco Mundo, you know."

"You see? Those bastards at Hueco Mundo have done nothing to change her, so leave her alone already!" Ichigo argued before he turned to leave with most of the other group. Urahara, however, stayed behind.

"He's wrong, isn't he?" Urahara spoke suddenly. "Part of you has changed. Kurosaki-kun might not be able to tell, but then again, he's also sort of an idealist. I'll accept your explanation for now, but know that I'm keeping an eye on you."

With that said, Urahara then turned around and followed the rest of the group. With a sigh, Orihime tilted her head down and looked at the pavement of the road. She really wished that Ichigo was right in the assumption that nothing had changed, but she knew very well that was not anywhere near the truth.

She knew that she seemed like the innocent one before, but if everyone could see what had really gone on in Hueco Mundo, especially concerning her relationship with Grimmjow, she knew that everyone would be in a state of disbelief.

Not only had she partaken in countless sinful encounters with the Sexta Espada, but she had also killed without feeling the least bit of remorse. Even if she knew that she would never mutter a word of it to even her best friend, Tatsuki, the stigma of it would haunt her forever.

However, as she watched Grimmjow on the security monitors later, thoughts of anger or regret did not haunt her. Instead, as she watched him look around frantically, she just wanted to find and embrace him until all his worries went away. Because although she knew he didn't care how she felt, she still didn't like to see anyone she cared about to seemingly suffer like he was.

"Let me go kick his ass again," Ichigo finally spoke up. "If he's around, then obviously he's up to no good."

"Now, now, Kurosaki-kun, don't just rush into battles without preparing first," Urahara said. "You might have defeated him once, but it's very likely that he developed his strength to a higher level since the last time you faced off against him."

"Then let me go with him." Orihime spoke up.

"I'm very sorry, Inoue-san, but I-" Urahara argued, but was immediately cut off.

"You're going to tell me that I'm useless again, aren't you?" Orihime said with a dark look that was so foreign to everyone, that it caused some to experience a shiver down their spine. "But I can help! I can heal anyone's injuries without muttering a single word. So please…just let me go with Kurosaki-kun."

"Very well," Urahara said after some thought. "But know that we will all be keeping an eye on you. If you should show any signs of being in cahoots with the enemy…"

"Would you shut the hell up about that already?!" Ichigo exclaimed. "She's obviously not on their side, so quit bitching about it! C'mon, Orihime, let's go."

Silently, Orihime followed behind Ichigo as he left the underground base. Everyone else in the room watched the two leave before they went back to whatever they were doing before. Urahara, however, seemed less at ease, as his gaze still lingered on the door even a few minutes after the two had departed.

----------

Elsewhere, Grimmjow stood in front of a house that had traces of her reiatsu all around it. The traces were old, but it was the biggest lead he had found in the town, since he set foot in it. At first, he considered knocking, but sneered at the idea of it and kicked the door down instead.

"Where the fuck are you?" he called as he walked in the door. When no one responded a few seconds later, he started to walk throughout the rooms of the house, searching for any signs of her. In the first few rooms, Grimmjow found nothing of interest, and found himself slightly surprised that Orihime's house was a lot more normal looking than he expected.

He passed by a framed picture of a man and sneered as he examined it. He had thought that it was a picture of some guy Orihime had a crush on or something, and denied feeling just the tiniest bit of jealously over it. However, when he took a second look, he noted the physical similarities to Orihime and figured it must have been her dead brother that she talked about a couple of times. Upon remembering something as trivial as that, Grimmjow scoffed at himself and walked out of the house before he could reminisce about anything else.

However, as he walked outside, he raised his head in an arrogant manner as he recognized the reiatsu of Ichigo, his rival, approach near. He grinned as he watched the orange-haired man appear in front of him, until he realized what he really had been searching for was hiding behind Ichigo. Instantly, his gaze fell off of his rival as he glared at Orihime.

"So that's why you left, huh?" Grimmjow said before giving off a small laugh. However, he obviously wasn't in a humorous mood, as Orihime noticed his reiatsu suddenly take on a more destructive nature. "And now you're sending this second-rate Shinigami to finish me off, so you can forget everything between us."

Confused by Grimmjow's accusations, as well as his anger directed toward her, Orihime gave him a strange look before opening her mouth to speak. However, she wasn't allowed the chance.

"What are you, stupid?!" Ichigo exclaimed. "Why the hell wouldn't she leave a whirling cesspool of death like Hueco Mundo? Especially with bastards like you populating it!"

"You're right, I am a bastard," Grimmjow admitted, and then aimed his glare over to Orihime and sneered. "But she knew that from the very beginning."

Realizing that Grimmjow was trying to get a point across to her, Orihime blinked a couple of times before finally speaking.

"Grimmjow, what are you trying to s-" she said meekly, before getting cut off again.

"I don't know why all why all of you assholes seem obsessed with Orihime, but there's no way I'm letting any more of my friends to suffer because of any of you guys!" Ichigo shouted before drawing his zanpakuto out.

Grinning sadistically, Grimmjow drew his sword out as well and immediately rushed forward to attack Ichigo. However, he was stopped when an all too familiar orange glow stopped him.

"Does it make you happy that you finally got your pathetic knight in shining armor that you always dreamed of?" Grimmjow asked bitterly.

"Grimmjow, why are you acting like this?" Orihime asked, as she hadn't been afraid of him before, but now the aura his reiatsu gave out absolutely terrified her.

"Remove the shield." Grimmjow muttered.

"No!" Orihime protested.

"How many times do I have to tell you, woman? One of us has to die, and it ain't gonna be me." Grimmjow growled. "Now get rid of that god damned thing, so I can kill him once and for all!"

However, before Orihime could say no again, Ichigo had gone around the shield and aimed for Grimmjow's back. Feeling herself tremble, she lifted a hand, causing another shield to block Ichigo's attack. Naturally, Ichigo recoiled in shock.

For a moment, Grimmjow's expression nearly mirrored Ichigo's, but his face quickly shifted in humor as he tipped his head back with laughter. Furrowing his eyebrows, Ichigo looked away from Grimmjow and gazed at Orihime questionably, who was now staring at the ground.

"Orihime…what-?" Ichigo mumbled out, but stopped when he saw a tear trickle down her face.

"I don't want either of you to die," Orihime sobbed. "I know this probably makes me a traitor, but I don't even know which side is the right one anymore!"

Ichigo was now speechless as he watched Orihime struggling to wipe her tears and looked over to Grimmjow, whose expression softened slightly as his gaze was fixed on the woman. However, it was short-lived as he scowled.

"Quit your damned crying, woman," Grimmjow said. "You know I fucking hate that."

"I'm sorry." Orihime said with a sniffle and made an extra effort to wipe away her tears.

Ichigo only watched the display between the two, and felt even more confused. Was there something going on between the two? Had Urahara been right in suspecting that Orihime could be traitorous?

However, Ichigo was snapped back to reality when he noticed Grimmjow quickly turning his head with an uncharacteristically frightened expression. It was then when Ichigo sensed the monstrous reiatsu approaching as well.

"Fuck…" Grimmjow muttered, knowing it was Aizen headed straight for them. He knew it was useless to run though, so he just stood in place until Aizen made his presence known to every one else. Without wasting another moment, Aizen turned his gaze to Grimmjow.

"Grimmjow." Aizen spoke in his calm, but commanding voice.

"Yes, Aizen-sama?" Grimmjow grumbled, making damned sure not to glace at him directly in the eye.

"Why is it that you're not guarding your post at Hueco Mundo?" Aizen

"Guess I got lost." Grimmjow said dryly, and promptly fell to his knees as a result. Struggling to get up, Aizen only merely narrowed his glance a little as he continued to interrogate him.

"Perhaps I should have told you beforehand that Ulquiorra, your brother, was kind enough to let me know that you stepped foot off of our premises," Aizen explained. "Now…tell me what reason you have for being here in Karakura Town."

"So he tattled on me, huh?" Grimmjow said with a half laugh. "It's good to see that some people never change."

For skipping around the question, Grimmjow felt the pangs of Aizen's reiatsu crush him even harder, causing him to flinch in pain.

Orihime could only watch in horror as Grimmjow struggled on the ground. Never before had she seen him this helpless, but she knew that her power was probably nothing, compared to Aizen.

"I'll only say this once more," Aizen said. "Why is it that I find you wandering around the streets of this town?"

"Is the dumb shit deaf now?" Grimmjow spat out. "I clearly told my 'brother' that I lost something and that I was gonna get it back."

"And what exactly was it that you lost?" Aizen said with a raise of his brow.

"Tch, have you forgotten that the chick over there escaped?" Grimmjow asked and then smirked through his pain. "I think you're gettin' senile."

This time, Grimmjow braced himself as he successfully anticipated another reiatsu attack from Aizen.

"Grimmjow, I think you're well aware of the fact that Ulquiorra is the one I appointed to be her caretaker." Aizen said.

"Yeah, and we all saw what a hack job he did at that," Grimmjow said with a roll of his eyes. "I mean, the dumb shit was just standing around the halls doing nothing when I saw that she was gone. Someone has to take initiative, and he clearly wasn't!"

"That's not the full truth though, is it?" Aizen said with a small, but intimidating smile.

Grimmjow didn't reply, and soon coughed up blood in result of his silence. Aizen then took a couple of steps toward the suffering Espada, but was stopped with one of Orihime's orange shields.

"Stop it, he's had enough!" Orihime cried out, not being able to bear to watch Grimmjow writhe on the floor any longer.

If Aizen was surprised by her actions, his face didn't show it, as he merely turned his face back to Grimmjow and gave him a condescending smile.

"It seems that a mere human woman has to save you now." Aizen said with some humor in his voice.

Orihime ignored him and knelt down to heal Grimmjow's injuries. Grimmjow glanced up at her face briefly before looking to the side again.

"Stupid woman," he muttered. "You should've run when you had the chance."

"You might not care about me, but I don't like to see people get hurt." Orihime said while concentrating on healing him.

Grimmjow said nothing in reply and only watched in awe as the orange light quickly healed the bruises on his body. He had seen the woman heal several times before, but even now he was still fascinated by her power.

The moment didn't last long though, as Aizen snatched Orihime and clasped a hand around her neck. At first, Grimmjow wasn't too worried, since he had put his hand around her neck to try to scare her before, but then he noticed that Aizen's thumb was pressed quite hard against her windpipe. His intent was to kill.

"Now's your chance to prove that you feel nothing for the girl." Aizen said, ignoring the gagging noises from Orihime.

"What the hell? Didn't you say you needed her power?!" Grimmjow exclaimed as he picked himself off the ground.

"Yes, her power would have made everything easier for me, but it's obvious that she won't cooperate," Aizen replied. "Therefore, the only alternative for her is death."

"Let her go!" Ichigo yelled as he attempted to slash Aizen with his Zangetsu.

Grimmjow watched as the Shinigami zipped past the corner of his eye and sighed. As he expected, Aizen easily deflected his attack with his one free hand and even broke his zanpakuto. Orihime's condition, meanwhile, only seemed to get worse.

Seeing no other way around it, Grimmjow hesitated for a moment before putting his hand on the hilt of his zanpakuto. He knew what he was about to do would guarantee his own death sentence, but for some reason, it didn't matter to him at that moment.

"Grind, Pantera!" he chanted before he transformed into his released form. Without wasting a single moment, he immediately dashed toward Aizen and took a swipe at the hand that was strangling Orihime. His claw barely scratched Aizen's arm, but it was still enough to cause him to draw his hand away from Orihime's neck.

Orihime quickly fell to the ground as she heavily panted, trying to get oxygen back into her lungs. Aizen kept his gaze on Grimmjow, giving him another condescending glance. Grimmjow just kept his eye on Aizen, focusing to react to whatever move he'd make next.

"Grimmjow…you…you saved me!" Orihime said in absolute surprise after she finally gathered her breath.

"What are you, stupid?" Grimmjow scowled, not taking his eyes off of Aizen. "Get the fuck away from here!"

"But…!" she stammered.

"I said go!" Grimmjow yelled, baring his sharp teeth.

"How very chivalrous of you, Grimmjow," Aizen said in a mocking tone. "Out of all the Espadas, I least expected this kind of behavior out of you. But then again, you have always been a problem to deal with, so I suppose it really shouldn't have been too surprising."

"You really like to hear yourself talk, don't ya?"

"Very well, if you want to die, then I shall hasten the process." Aizen said before disappearing in a flash.

Turning around sharply, Grimmjow tried to block the incoming attack, but when he saw that Aizen was actually aiming at his side, his eyes widened in panic, until he saw Ichigo appear to block the attack with his reformed Zangetsu. Grimmjow then groaned in annoyance as Aizen gave him a condescending laugh.

"It seems like you're being saved a lot lately," Aizen said before posing his sword to attempt to hit him again. "It's disappointing."

"I don't know what the hell's going on here," Ichigo droned, turning around to face Grimmjow to reveal that his mask was on his face. "But I know that we both have a score to settle with that guy. We might hate each other, but we can have our fight after we kill this bastard."

Grimmjow looked over at Ichigo warily before turning his gaze back at Aizen. He hated having to rely on the help of a Shinigami, but he knew in this situation, he didn't have much choice. Deciding that he'd take out his frustration by skewering Ichigo later, he rushed on ahead to fight Aizen, alongside Ichigo.

Orihime could only watch as the three battled. She knew that both Grimmjow and Ichigo wanted her to get away from the scene, but as she said earlier, she didn't want to see either of them get hurt. And knowing how reckless the two men were, she figured that the chances of them getting serious injuries were pretty high.

As predicted, it wasn't long until she saw Ichigo fall down from the sky. Luckily, she summoned a shield and cushioned his fall. Quickly, she healed his cuts, and even healed his Hollow mask back on his face (despite the fact that she hated it, as she knew that Ichigo wasn't the same when he wore it), before backing up to allow him to speed back into battle.

A few minutes later, Grimmjow was struck with a critical blow, and was caught with Orihime's shield as he fell down. Once she healed his injuries though, Orihime looked at him curiously as he stood up and just watched Ichigo and Aizen fight.

"There's no way we can win like this." Grimmjow said as he observed the two.

"Then what are you going to do?" Orihime asked and then sighed. "It's not like you can run away."

"As if I'd ever run away," Grimmjow scoffed. "What I'm saying is that we're fighting a losing battle. Neither me nor Ichigo has the abilities to defeat Aizen."

"I wish I could help, but my powers wouldn't be too much help against him."

Orihime looked up at the fight with a melancholy look on her face, as Grimmjow seemingly had an epiphany and finally looked over to Orihime.

"The Shinigami bastard and I don't have the power to take him down…but you do." Grimmjow said.

"Wait…what are you talking about?!" Orihime exclaimed.

"The very first day I saw you, I remember that pompous bastard talkin' about how you can reject things from existence," Grimmjow explained. "So all you need to do is make it so he was never born."

"But Aizen isn't a normal being when it comes to power!" Orihime interjected. "There's no way he'd just stand there and let me hit him with Tsubaki."

Grimmjow seemed to consider Orihime's words as he took on a more serious expression, trying to think up a way to get around the complications of the battle. He looked up to Ichigo and Aizen's battle again before letting off a little laugh.

"So this is how it's gotta end, huh?" he commented to himself before resuming his usual feral grin and turning around to look at Orihime. "I'll give you all the time in the world to use your fairies of yours."

"What…how?"

"The only way…I'll hold him in place, and you will take both of us out in one hit!" Grimmjow proclaimed.

"But Grimmjow…it'll erase you out of existence too!" Orihime said in a panicked voice.

"Yeah…isn't that what you want?" Grimmjow asked, his mouth forming into a slight frown. "With me gone, you probably won't remember all the things we did, right? Then you can go marry that god damned Shinigami up there and have a whole motley crew of brats. Besides, it'll give me satisfaction that I took asshole-sama with me into death."

"That's not what I want though!" Orihime protested, taking a few steps forward.

"It's not about what you want!" Grimmjow yelled, but calmed down long enough to explain the situation to her. "Either I can die, take Aizen with me, and the whole world can continue on its pathetic existence. Or, you can have not only me die, but have your little Shinigami friend die as well. Then Aizen would force you to use your power, making him even more powerful, and who knows how many people he'll kill after that. At least this way, you can have your god damned Shinigami to fulfill all your stupid little fantasies."

Without hearing another word, Grimmjow again turned around to face the battle.

"Grimmjow! It's not him that I want!" Orihime cried out in desperation. "It's you! But you told me that you didn't care…that's why I ran away."

Grimmjow instantly stopped upon hearing her words, realizing just how much of an idiot he really was. In that moment, he wanted to turn around and kiss her or tell her that he had been a fool. Hell, he even briefly thought about abandoning his plan. But he knew he could do none of that. For her sake alone, he continued walking into battle.

In despair, Orihime frantically tried to come up with some kind of alternative, but could think of nothing. In silence, she watched the next sequence of events unfold when Ichigo first struck Aizen with a surprise attack. After that, Aizen retaliated with a kidou blast, which destroyed his Hollow mask. Soon after that, Aizen then struck again, causing Ichigo to crash to the ground. With him momentarily distracted, Grimmjow took the time to fly above him and then rushed into Aizen, using his body as a projectile.

The two crashed into the concrete, which created a large cloud of dust to form. Aizen picked himself up and didn't see Grimmjow near him. Before he could try to sense his reiatsu though, he felt a pair of claws grab him from behind with such force, it caused his blood to run across his nails.

"Do it now!" Grimmjow yelled. Perturbed, Aizen looked across to Orihime and gave a sardonic laugh.

"Using the girl's power to destroy me?" Aizen spoke in a mocking manner. "She doesn't have it in her to use you as a sacrifice. Am I right, Miss Inoue?"

Orihime quivered trying to touch her hairpins, but was hesitant because of the said sacrifice that she would have to make.

"You see, Grimmjow? Try as you might, you can not save her," Aizen boasted. "In the end, the girl, along with her power, belongs to me."

"You're wrong. She doesn't belong to you, the Shinigami trash…or even me." Grimmjow said, with his facial features softening at the last part of the sentence. However, his face converted back to his fierce look as he growled the next line. "She belongs…to no one!"

"Grimmjow…" Orihime said in wonder, speechless by the display he just gave.

"Quit fucking around!" Grimmjow yelled at her. "Do it now!"

Orihime looked down at the ground, still feeling a little hesitant, but finally made up her mind and looked up with a determined face. Within moments, her Shun Shun Rikka were gathered in front of her. Instead of the usual friendly greetings though, Orihime went straight to business.

"Tsubaki…I reject."

From that point on, everything seemed to move in slow motion as Tsubaki raced toward Grimmjow and Aizen. Orihime didn't want to do it, but she knew she had no other choice to stop Aizen. The worst thing for her though was that she knew that if she didn't do it, Grimmjow would be disappointed in her.

Seeing the fairy-like creature race toward him, Grimmjow's grin relaxed a little, reveling in his last few seconds of life. His eyes flickered to Orihime's and realized there were so many things he wanted to say to her.

"Orihime…" he called out, instantly receiving the girl's attention.

He wanted to tell her that he was sorry for all that they had done.

He wanted to tell her that he wishes that they could start back from the beginning.

He wanted to assure her that she was the only thing that he treasured in Hueco Mundo.

Hell, he wanted to tell her that she was the best god damned thing in his whole, meaningless life.

However, in the end, he could only bring himself to say two words.

"…I lied."

He then dug that stupid little necklace of hers out of his pocket and clutched it for a split second, before dropping it onto the ground.

Orihime noticed that he dropped the trinket, and although she was at first confused by his comment, her mind flashed back to when he told her that he couldn't love anything but himself. Realizing what he was really saying, she could feel a lump grow in her throat, but she knew how much Grimmjow hated it when she cried, so she held back her tears as she looked up to his eyes one last time before Tsubaki slashed through him, as well as Aizen.

Instantly, Grimmjow's body started to dematerialize into smaller spirit particles. Intrigued, Grimmjow watched as the tiny spirit particles floated away from him. Just as he was about to disappear completely, Orihime stepped up and looked at his face with a sorrowful expression.

Both of them had been fools. Grimmjow had mistreated Orihime badly since the beginning of what could hardly be called a relationship and she had been too idealistic to realize that Grimmjow had a far different way of dealing with things than most people. However, if she had not run away, the two would have only continued wasting their lives away in their carnal affairs until she finally lost the last remaining shred of her insanity or he finally got tired of her and moved on to something else to alleviate his boredom.

Though the circumstances were unfortunate, this was ultimately the only way both Grimmjow and Orihime would finally understand what could have been between them. As Grimmjow faded away, the two looked at each other in silence, as if they both understood everything in that one moment before Grimmjow completely dematerialized.

Orihime bent down and picked up the necklace after he faded away. After inspecting it, she realized it was the necklace she had lost in Hueco Mundo and felt tears dwelling in her eyes as she realized that Grimmjow had been holding onto it and had probably planned on giving it back to her, as she knew that he wasn't into little things such as that.

Before she shed a single tear though, she heard a groan a few yards away from her and mentally hit herself for completely forgetting that Ichigo was still injured on the ground. She was about to turn to go over to him, when a shiny orb caught her eye. Drawn by the light, Orihime picked it up and realized that it was the Hougyoku. Orihime froze, realizing that the one thing she needed to destroy was in her hands. However, healing Ichigo's injuries were more important, so she turned around again, only to be shocked to feel the blade of a sword go right through her stomach. Confused, Orihime managed to crane her head up, but looked even more confused when she looked up to the face of her attacker.

"Y…you! Why…?" Orihime stammered before coughing up a little blood. "Urahara-san…why?"

Urahara looked at her with a dark expression, before his face took on the more exuberant expression she was used to.

"Forgive me, as this kind of behavior is rather inappropriate for someone who just did one heck of a favor for me, don't you think, Inoue-san?" Urahara said in a strange, cheery voice before his eyes took on a terrifying look. "That fool, Aizen, was only a mere annoyance for me to reach my goal."

Orihime tried to respond, but found it hard, because she was trying desperately to not cry out in pain. Urahara waited a few moments for her to say something, but then shrugged and continued talking.

"Really, I'm surprised none of you figured that it was me the whole time," he said in a lofty way. "It's funny how nobody ever questioned why I was thrown out of Soul Society. It was because old man, Yamamoto-san, figured out my intentions to steal the Hougyoku to gain power for myself. Obviously, I would need help, so I enlisted the services of Aizen Sousuke to be my partner in crime. That's why I hid the Hougyoku inside your friend, Rukia, as I knew that Aizen would be able to retrieve it and hide it in another spot. The only reason I trained you, Ichigo, and Sado was because we needed a way to distract Soul Society and to keep all of you out of the dark. However, shortly after he obtained the orb, we found that its power was nearly depleted, so we had to think of a way to restore it to its full potential. That's when you came into play, Inoue-san. It was obvious from the beginning that you had the power to manipulate the existence of anything by the power of your will alone. So therefore, I played my part in the play by saying that you were better off staying on the sidelines, knowing that it would attack your self-esteem, and Rukia would be the one to whisk you away to Soul Society, away from Ichigo, who was growing more powerful at an alarming rate. And of course, you know the course of actions that went on from that point. However, Aizen got too full of himself and planned on taking the power for himself. But it seems like you've solved that problem for me."

"I can't believe…you tricked us the entire time!" Orihime spat out, while wincing in pain.

"Indeed, I played so well into the kooky, but loveable and wise man part so well, that I almost believed it myself." Urahara said with a sinister grin. "Now…I shall give you a death by my Benihime and collect your power with the Hougyoku. 'Crimson Princess'…I don't think there's a more suitable way for you die.

Urahara then plunged the sword deeper into her stomach and grabbed the orb in Orihime's hand. However, before he could snatch it away from her, Orihime gripped the orb as hard as she could and pulled it back away from him. Urahara looked annoyed for a moment, but then let out another smile.

"C'mon, Inoue-san…die already!" Urahara said in an odd mixture of a sweet and odious nature. He then pushed the sword to its hilt in Orihime's stomach. "You and your power belong to the Hougyoku!"

Urahara then reached for the Hougyoku again, and nearly grabbed it out of Orihime's hands. However, even though she felt like she was about to pass out, Orihime used the last of her strength to pull the orb away from him.

"I…belong…to no one!" Orihime said with difficulty, as her eyes burned with resolve. Knowing she was running on only the last fumes of her life, she managed to summon her Shun Shun Rikka for the last time. Glancing at the Hougyoku, she made her final command. "I…reject!"

Instantly, the Hougyoku in her hand exploded in a burst of energy and faded away. Upon seeing Urahara's shocked and angered expression, Orihime laughed at the ridiculous expression, although it only caused her to cough up more blood. Urahara only grew angrier, until he heard a crowd approach behind him. Looking behind him, Orihime gave a faint smile at the crowd of Shinigami and an assortment of her friends from school. Tatsuki, Ishida, and Matsumoto immediately ran to her side to catch her as she felt herself fall backwards. She fluttered her eyes open and grinned through her pain.

"Good…bye…" Orihime managed to choke out before she shut her eyes for the last time.

When she awoke, she was alarmed as she was seemingly looking at her own body in a pool of blood. She turned to Rukia, who had a calm expression on her face.

"So I guess my body really is dead…" Orihime mused.

"Yeah…" Rukia answered.

"Oh! What about Ichigo? Is he alright?!" Orihime exclaimed, instantly reminded of the task she was attempting to do before being attacked.

"Yeah, unfortunately it was too late to save you by the time Hanatarou got over here, but Ichigo has been healed to a stable condition."

"And Urahara? Where is he?"

"It was a shock to us all," Rukia said with a sigh. "Yoruichi was especially taken aback, but she managed to hold it together long enough to fight and weaken him enough to hand him over to the authorities in Soul Society. He's now in the prison with maximum security. There's no way he'll escape."

"That's a relief." Orihime said with a bow of her head. "So what happens to me now?"

"Well, since you still are a plus soul, I can send you to Soul Society through konso." Rukia responded.

"So I'll become a Shinigami?!" Orihime asked. "I'll be able to see everyone still?"

"Yeah, most likely." Rukia said with a smile. "Although it's hard to say where you'll be dropped off, so it might be a while before you make it to the Seireitei. However, I know it shouldn't be too long. You'll make a wonderful Shinigami. We'll all look for you when we can."

"Alright…I'll look forward to seeing all of you soon!" Orihime said cheerfully, but then remembered the events of the day and looked down. "Even if I wish there was someone else I could see…"

"Eh?"

"Oh…it's nothing!" Orihime said, forcing herself to look cheerful again. "I might not be able to become the super gigantic robot I always dreamed of, but I'll do my best to become a Shinigami!"

"I know you will," Rukia said as she raised the hilt of her zanpakuto and tapped Orihime's forehead with it. "I'm sure we'll all see you soon."

Orihime nodded and turned to wave at the rest of the group around her before everything turned black again. When she woke up this time though, she found herself on the ground of a completely different place. After picking herself up and dusting off her shirt, she realized that she was really in Soul Society.

After asking around, she found that she had been dropped into the thirty-fourth district. She knew it wasn't the most ideal district to land into, but after hearing that there were eighty different districts and the higher numbered ones were harder to live in, she was thankful that she was put in one that was probably a lot peaceful than say, the eightieth district.

Wasting no time, Orihime instantly set off on her journey to the Seireitei. During her pilgrimage, she searched in every district she passed to see if Sora, her brother, had made it to Soul Society, but she was not able to find him anywhere.

When she finally made it to the Shinigami Academy, someone recognized her and instantly had her evaluated in a test. After impressing the observing instructors, it was decided that instead of the standard six-year tuition that most Shinigami hopefuls had to go through, she would instead attend the academy for six months to learn kidou spells and to also learn how to generate a zanpakuto.

After six months had passed, she had easily learned the kidou spells that focused on healing and protecting others, and now wielded a zanpakuto that took on the shape of two long hairpins in their unreleased state and also possessed all the powers of her Shun Shun Rikka in her human life.

Predictably, she was transferred to the Fourth Division, to serve under Retsu Unohana. Impressive with her hasty and efficient healing powers, she quickly rose through the ranks to become the Third Seat in the Division within two weeks. Most said that her powers were even greater than Unohana's, but Orihime didn't want the responsibility of being the captain of a Division right now, and knew that Isane worked very well with Unohana as her vice-captain, so Orihime was fine with being the Third Seat.

One day though, Isane came running to Orihime with an exasperated expression on her face. Rising from her seat, Orihime offered her a glass of water, which she accepted and quickly drank.

"What's the problem, Isane-san?"" Orihime asked.

"Ugh…you know how the Eleventh Division is always getting into fights, right?" Isane started.

"Uh-huh…so it's those guys this time, huh?" Orihime said with a giggle. "So what did they do this time?"

"Well, this new guy just came in there and barged in about a week ago, and ever since then, him and Kenpachi have been fighting non-stop for the right to be captain of the Eleventh Division. For now, the guy's the Third Seat, since Ikkaku-san was finally talked into taking the position of being captain of the Ninth Division, but apparently it's not enough for him." Isane explained. "Unohana and I are busy healing Zaraki-san, as he's suffering from a pretty bad cut through the chest, but we need you to heal the other guy. The others have his shoulder wound bandaged up, but we need you to heal it."

"I understand! I'll get to it right away!" Orihime said with an exaggerated salute and was about to run off, but came back with a sheepish look. "Uh…where was this guy again?"

With a laugh, Isane pointed her off in the right direction and set off to help Unohana with her job. Walking through the directed door, Orihime was a little nervous, since the man that Isane described sounded like someone you wouldn't want to run into by choice, but it was her duty to heal anyone who needed help. With a sigh, she opened the door.

She was unfazed by the bare-chested man at first, as she was already used to varying degrees of nudity for her job, but when she looked up and saw a head of wild, blue hair, she felt her heart flutter as she took a double take. The man didn't look at her, but he took on an annoyed expression as he sensed that she had been staring at him for a few seconds.

"What the fuck is wrong? Ya haven't seen blue hair before or are ya just enjoying the scenery? Either way, any incompetent medic would-…" the man yelled before turning his head and stopping when he realized just who he was talking to.

"Grimmjow…you're really here…" Orihime said with a dazed expression.

Grimmjow didn't respond as his shocked expression mirrored hers. Finally, Orihime took a few steps forward and embraced him. She didn't understand how it was possible for him to end up in Soul Society, but she didn't care. If it was all just a dream, she was never going to let go.

Hearing her sniffle as she cried into his chest, Grimmjow wrapped an arm around her back as he stroked her hair with his other hand. After a while, he gave a sigh.

"Okay, enough with the crying already! God damn, if you took all the tears from all the times you cried, I bet you could make a fucking ocean!" Grimmjow groaned. "I'm just as happy to see you too, but did you forget that I'm bleeding from the shoulder?!"

Embarrassed, Orihime pulled herself away from him and inspected the damage. She then concentrated her energy for a split second and healed the wound within a minute.

"Eh heh…sorry about that." Orihime said, scratching behind her head, but then looked down. "I'm just really happy you were somehow able to come here."

Grimmjow said nothing and stood up. He walked behind Orihime and leaned down enough to whisper in her hear.

"So…after your shift, will it be your place or mine?" he asked huskily.

"EHH?!" Orihime cried out, trying desperately to hide the blush that covered her face.

Grimmjow only laughed as he headed toward the door. Orihime sighed in relief, figuring it was just a joke.

"My place, it is. Meet me outside of the Eleventh Division headquarters," Grimmjow said with a shrug, but then turned around to flash the more devilish grin she was used to. "We'll have a whole lotta fun, if ya know what I mean."

This time Grimmjow actually left the room, but Orihime's face was now beet red, as she knew exactly what he meant. She was so morbidly embarrassed, that she wished she could sink into the floor at that moment and never come out. However, she still had others who needed to be healed, so she blocked it out of her mind and walked out.

For the first time ever, Orihime finally felt complete.

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Author's Notes

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GUESS WHAT? I'M NOT DEAD!

Nope, I just have been busy moving lately (and my mother didn't bother to plan ahead of time, so we've been gradually moving our stuff to our new location), and didn't get a lot of time to write. But for the most part, we're settled in, so hopefully I can get stuff out a little quicker now.

Anyways, the thing I probably need to address the most is the weird ass Urahara heel turn. I'll just say that I needed a twist in the story to basically kill off Orihime, and I happen to probably be the number one supporter of Urahara being the main villain. Hell, I'm probably the only one that really thought about it.

Anyways, I'm gonna work on the next Worse Than Death chapter next, because I REALLY want to get it done before Valentine's Day. I'm not much for the holiday myself, as I cherish being single, but ya gotta get something out on that day, right? And although I didn't originally plan on the next chapter to be Valentine Day themed, it would actually work REALLY well with it.


	15. Favor for a Favor

Warning: Rated M for smut and language!

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Favor for a Favor

Themes #1 (Broken) and #31 (Cold)

By Renegade Raine

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She knew that she should have been happy that she was finally successfully rescued from the hell she knew as Hueco Mundo, but things only seem to get worse for her, as her failure to destroy the Hougyoku still loomed in her head. She had thought that she could finally be something more than just the girl who healed everyone else's injuries, but once again, she only proved to be useless for any other task.

The thing that really distressed Orihime though was not what she could have gained, but rather, it was what she lost.

During the day, she put on her mask of deceit as she acted cheerfully when she hung out with either Rukia or Tatsuki. Some days she would also go and do something with Ishida, Chad, Ichigo, or sometimes even Rangiku. No matter who she was with though, no one was able to tell that deep inside, she had to deal with the repercussions of her stay at Hueco Mundo.

At night though, when she was alone in her home, she would try to go to bed early, but it never worked out for her. She would either successfully fall asleep, only to have nightmares, relating to her experiences in Hueco Mundo, or she would only lie in her bed, kept awake by the continuous thoughts that ran through her head. When her restlessness got the best of her, the only thing she could do was to walk to her bedroom window and look at the stars, hoping to think about something else.

The worse part about the nights though, was that no matter how many blankets she wrapped around herself or how high she turned up the thermostat in her house, she always felt cold. Although it had already been a couple of months since she had been rescued, her hands still gripped the inside of the heaviest blanket in her house, which she had wrapped tightly around her body.

She didn't know what it was about the day today, but she could barely keep her façade in front of her friends, which caused a little bit of concern from everyone else, especially Ishida, but she would brush them away by flashing one of her cheesy smiles and assuring them it was alright. Ishida still didn't look convinced, but didn't say anything, which Orihime was thankful for. She was happy that he cared enough to try to figure out what was bothering her, but she knew that he wouldn't understand her situation if she explained it to him.

Out of the blue though, he later asked her if she wanted him to walk her home. Orihime was again flattered that he cared enough to look after her well being, but she figured it would be better to be independent and walk herself home. So she then thanked him for the offer, not realizing that he was attempting to make a move on her, and went her separate way home.

Now it was the night, and Orihime couldn't sleep and still shivered from the chill that ran through her body. She stared at the night sky for what seemed like hours, hoping that her fatigue would get the best of her, before she decided that it was probably best to at least get some rest and turned around. However, what she saw left her wide-eyed and speechless.

"Y-you…!" Orihime stuttered, nearly brought to tears by the sight of the blue-haired Espada casually standing in the doorway of her bedroom, leaning an arm against it. Finally gaining composure of herself, she gave the strongest expression possible and shook her head.

"So this is where ya live, huh?" Grimmjow said with a slight smirk. "The others are pretty stupid for leaving y'here by yourself, if you ask me."

"Do whatever you want, but I'm not going back!" Orihime said defiantly. "I'd rather die than to go back with you!"

"Tch. Stupid woman, you haven't even noticed, have you?" Grimmjow said with a roll of his eyes as he stepped into a portion of her room that was lit a little better. "I'm not here to take you back."

As he stepped closer to her, Orihime looked up and finally noticed that part of the skull fragment that covered his jaw was missing. Upon further inspection, she thought that the edges of the mask that remained on his face looked like they were torn off.

"What…happened?" Orihime asked, distracted by the broken mask.

"Tch, got myself in another fight." Grimmjow answered with a shrug and then looked over to the smaller girl in front of him. "I need you to fix it, because I can't get any stronger without the damned thing."

"No…" Orihime said with a firm expression in her eyes. "There's no way I'd help you!"

"Oh? Is that right?" he said with mock surprise, but then stepped toward Orihime until he was only about a foot away from her. "You're shivering…ye scared or is it because you're cold…although it's probably about a normal temperature in here."

Orihime didn't answer his question, which only prompted him to grin in response. In a swift movement, he grabbed the blanket she held onto and pulled her closer to his body. Orihime trembled as he brought his lips so close to her own, that she could feel his breath against her. The worst part was that she was tempted to close the gap, to recreate the mind-blowing sensation she had every time they had kissed in the past.

"Heh…I thought so." Grimmjow mused before moving a cheek against hers to move his mouth closer to her ear. "I told you that no one else could fuck you the way I do."

"Get away from me," Orihime tried to say in a firm voice, but it only came out shaky. "I'm glad that I was saved from a demon like you!"

Aggressively, Grimmjow pushed her against a wall and silenced her as their lips made contact. Instantly, Orihime was in submission as her body melted into his, her hands snaking their way across his exposed chest. After a few seconds, he pulled away, but still allowed his lips to linger above hers.

"Don't lie to yourself…you miss this, don'tcha?" Grimmjow asked with an amused tone.

Orihime still didn't say anything as a tear streamed down her face. She wanted to be strong, like Rukia, but Grimmjow always knew how to make her feel so weak. She hated it, but at the same time, couldn't get enough of it.

"I'll tell ya what, woman. I was sent here by that prick, Aizen, to go get'cha back, but I could just stay here and relive all those nights we spent together at Las Noches." Grimmjow said in the most convincing way he could muster. "All you have to do is fix my mask."

As if being awaken from a trance, Orihime shot her head up and pushed herself away from the wall and Grimmjow.

"No! I won't heal you!" Orihime exclaimed.

To her surprise, Grimmjow just shrugged and turned around.

"Alright…" Grimmjow spoke with an indifferent face. "It's your loss."

She knew that she should have been happy that he was leaving, but instead she only felt dread. She tried to shake the feeling, but she couldn't help but believe that she would only be in the same awful position that she had been every night for the previous two months. Knowing she couldn't take it anymore, she clenched her fists and dropped her shoulders in defeat.

"Wait…!"

Grimmjow stopped and grinned at how predictable the woman really was. When he turned around to face her though, he instead had an intrigued look.

"You reconsidering?" Grimmjow asked in a cocky manner.

"How do I know that you'll give me what I want if I do this?" Orihime said in response.

Grimmjow raised an eyebrow and chuckled a little. Orihime looked to the side in embarrassment. Within seconds, Orihime again found herself pinned to the wall.

"If you promise that you'll heal it afterwards, we can have our fun right now." Grimmjow said with a leering grin. "Besides, wouldn't it be nice to not have the damned mask in the way for once?"

Thinking about what to do, Orihime looked past Grimmjow's sharp blue eyes and went into a slight daze. Getting impatient with her indecisiveness, Grimmjow yanked the blanket from around Orihime and let it drop to the floor. Leaning her further against the wall, he then ran a hand over the top of her silky nightgown and rested his hand over one of her breasts. He then looked down at her face as he kneaded it in his hand and slid his thumb over her tit. Orihime moaned slightly in response and leaned into his touch.

"Just give me your word, and I can do a whole lot more for you," Grimmjow said huskily before moving his mouth down to her neck and bit gently at the crook of her neck, eliciting a gasp from her. "C'mon…what do ya say?"

"I…I'll…I'll do it," Orihime answered, ashamed that he could manipulate her like that, but she wanted desperately to feel his touch again. She felt him smile against her shoulder before he took his free hand and ran it across her rear, before using it to lift her against the wall.

Their lips met again, but this time he slid his tongue across her lips and she opened her mouth eagerly to allow him to explore her mouth. Orihime wrapped a hand around the back of Grimmjow's wild, blue hair to deepen the kiss. After a few moments, Grimmjow spread Orihime's legs apart and rubbed his hardness against her twice before he hoisted her in one of his arms and carried her over to her bed. He then lied down on the bed, placed Orihime on top of his lap, and promptly lifted her nightgown off of her skin. 

With nearly all of her skin exposed to him, other than the pair of panties she wore, Grimmjow took advantage of it as his hand again slid up from her stomach, until he was able to grab a hold of one of her pleasantly large breasts and slowly stroked it with his thumb. His other hand slid down her stomach and pushed past the band of her underwear until he could feel her folds rub against him. He teased the sensitive flesh for a brief period of time before slipping two fingers inside of her. Orihime's breathing hitched a little, but she soon got used to the sensation and rocked with the movements of the digits inside her.

"You're already dripping wet," Grimmjow said with a slight chuckle. He then moved his mouth down and ran his tongue across one of her tits. "But then again, I guess it's been a real long time since we last did this."

Abruptly, Grimmjow then removed his both of his hands from Orihime, sneered at the panties that she still had on, and looked back down to Orihime's eyes before barking off an order.

"Take 'em off."

Although the sudden chill her body went through when he moved both hands off of her disappointed Orihime, she was more than willing to dispose of the single piece of clothing left on her body. She stood up off the bed and lifted a leg up as she stepped out of the offending garment. She then let it slide the rest of the way onto the floor before she turned her eyes back to the bed.

Grimmjow, in the meantime, had taken off his boots and jacket and left them on the floor. He watched as she moved back onto the bed, but before she could straddle his hips, he placed a hold on each thigh tightly and shook his head.

"Not yet…" he said in a mockingly scolding voice. "Move up."

Orihime looked down at Grimmjow with a confused expression on her face, as she wasn't quite sure as to what he wanted her to do. When she didn't do anything after a few seconds, Grimmjow sighed and pulled Orihime up the bed by her legs until she was directly above his head. As she felt his breath against the inside of her legs, Orihime finally realized what he was about to do.

"Hey Grimmjow…that's really not necessary! I mean you never did this befo…ah…!" Orihime said nervously before Grimmjow ran his tongue over her most sensitive spot, therefore forcing her to shut up. He liked her better that way.

As he continued to explore her nether regions with his tongue, he placed one hand on her rear, to push her closer to him, and the other on the inside of one of her thighs to prevent his face from being a very tight sandwich between her legs. Despite the fact that the remnants of his broken mask irritated one of her thighs, Orihime disregarded the mild pain though, as the ecstasy Grimmjow put her through was much more overpowering.

"Grimmjow…" Orihime said in a breathy voice, feeling as if she were about to explode. "I can't take much more of…ahhh…mmph…!"

Before Orihime lost her mind, however, Grimmjow moved his mouth away from her. There was no way that he was going to let it end like that. Her moans had him as hard as a fucking rock and he needed to have his release before he was done with her.

"We're not done yet," he said in a gruff voice, but then gave a slight grin. "Y'alright with the usual position?"

"Y…yeah…"

"Then get to it."

Moving her hips down to his own, Orihime's hands hesitated over Grimmjow's black sash briefly before she took it out and dropped it down. She then pulled the white material off of his legs and allowed him to kick the rest of it off. After that, she grabbed a hold of his erect member and stroked it once with her thumb. In response, he groaned slightly as he closed his eyes. When they opened again, Grimmjow's eyes took on a more lustful nature as he looked up to Orihime. She blushed slightly, but then plunged herself on him, causing both of them to moan simultaneously.

They had tried several positions in the past, but Grimmjow found that it worked better when she was on top, as she was quite a bit smaller than he was. Not to mention that he had a better view of her legendary tits and that he liked the grip her knees had on his waist. In the past, she had been more hesitant to do anything, and he had to make all the first moves. However, he was surprised as she started to move against him on her own. With her unexpected boldness and the fact that she seemed tighter than usual, Grimmjow's mind struggled as he tried to remain sane. He had laughed before when someone had told him that redheads were more freaky in bed, as Orihime before was as meek and mild as one person could get, but now he wondered if that person was right as Orihime was making it real hard for him to be in control. The scary part was that he had never been more turned on before in his life.

Sweat dripped from both of their bodies as they moved against each other in an aggressive pace. Grimmjow could sense that his climax was approaching soon, but he didn't want to be outdone by Orihime. To try to speed up her release, he managed to bring a hand up to stroke her clit as he continued to pump into him.

"C'mon woman…be a good girl and come for me…" he said as his other hand gripped tighter on her ass and pushed her harder against him. Orihime shut her eyes tightly and gave one last moan before she gave into her release. Grimmjow gave a satisfied smirk and moved both of his hands to her hips as he reached his climax.

"Thatta girl…" Grimmjow muttered between pants before grinning yet again. "Now you just need to fill your end of the deal.

She knew that it was against everything she and her friends stood for, but Orihime felt powerless in this situation. If she refused, she knew that Grimmjow had the power to either kill her on the spot, or worse, bring her back to Hueco Mundo. Also, there was the fact that she was still straddling Grimmjow's hips while his cock was still inside of her. In that position, it wasn't exactly the most empowering situation for her.

Looking away, she summoned her Shun Shun Rikka and ordered them to heal Grimmjow's mask. Once she was finished, Grimmjow ran his hand over his newly restored mask and made a chuckling sound in the back of his throat as he finally pulled himself out of her.

Not wanting to even look at him at this point, Orihime picked herself off of him and slid her nightgown back on as she went to the dresser to get herself a new pair of underwear. As she did that, Grimmjow leisurely put his own clothes back on and then turned to watch Orihime with humor in his eyes.

"I'll make sure to stop again if I get in another fight."

On one hand, Orihime dreaded the next time, but at the same time, she felt a strange sense of relief. It made her sick to her stomach.

Grimmjow then turned around to leave with a smirk on his face to celebrate his plan being completely successful. The truth was that ever since Ichigo and the rest of his friends took Orihime away from Hueco Mundo, Grimmjow had been livid at the loss of his toy. He had tried to screw a couple of other Arrancar chicks across Las Noches, but it wasn't enough, as none of them turned him on as much as the redheaded human did.

Since Aizen didn't really care what his Espada army did, as long as they didn't create trouble in Soul Society or the human world, Grimmjow sought out Orihime. It wasn't hard to find her, as he could practically smell her reiatsu. However, instead of just kidnapping her, he decided to just keep an eye on her during the day.

Everything was fine for a while, but earlier during the current day, he could barely hold himself back as he watched the nerdy-looking kid with the glasses trying to make a move on HIS piece of ass. If he had it his way, he would have jumped from behind the building he was lurking around, rammed his hand through the damned kid's stomach, and be done with him. However, Aizen had specifically ordered that no one was to touch anyone in Karakura Town, and as much as he hated to admit it, Aizen had the power to destroy him.

Thankfully, the woman had been too clueless to even guess that the boy was making a move on him and turned him down. However, it did nothing to quell the jealousy that raged on inside of him. They were not in love, but he still didn't want to see her happy with some other guy.

Not being able to hold himself back from her any longer, he had come up with a plan that wouldn't make himself look pathetic in her eyes. It would have seemed like a dumb plan to anyone else, but he had ripped his own mask off of his jaw, knowing that Orihime would heal it no matter what he did to her. Knowing that she'd be extra vulnerable on this day, he had then entered her room and set the deal that benefited him in every single way possible.

Thinking of the said day, Grimmjow realized that he forgot to say one last thing and tilted his head around.

"Oh yeah…" he said as a grin crept on his face. "Happy Valentine's Day."

He then turned his head back around and laughed a little before leaving her room and shutting the door behind him.

Orihime gave a discontent sigh and walked over to the bathroom to take a long, hot shower. However, she doubted that even that would stop the chill through her body that seemed even bitterer than before.

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Author's Notes

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Yes, I know I'm INCREDIBLY sadistic to release something like this for Valentine's Day. But c'moooooon, y'all should know my style by now (that is when I'm not on my crackish mood). 3

Since I hate how fluffy the last angst theme turned out, this oneshot makes me feel a little more satisfied. I think from now on, for the rest of the angst themes, I'll refrain from writing any sequels, since I usually hate them later on. However, not all of them will be quite as morose as this one was. Hell, one will be more humorous (and yet I'll still keep the angst requirement in it) than anything if I go through with it.

I'm sure that those of you who read my other oneshots are confused that I put Ishida/Orihime hints as opposed to Ichigo/Orihime hints, but I actually love IshiHime a whole lot more than IchiHime (although I mildly like that pairing too). Hell, I believe that IshiHime was even my first ship in Bleach, and it's still my second favorite Orihime pairing. I just usually wind up putting in IchiHime, as it has a little more evidence of becoming canon and it works as a good foil for the GrimmHime relationship as Grimmjow and Ichigo have the whole rivalry thing going on. Grimmjow probably wouldn't like Ishida (and vice versa), but they haven't interacted, so I couldn't say for sure.

But seriously, I'm going to write Worse Than Death after this, as I think the angsties have subsided for a little while. Those of you who complain that Ichigo isn't in it enough should be happy, since he'll be in most of the next chapter. And there will be lots of booze too! With booze, creepy stalkers, and borderline pedophilia, the next chapter is one you won't want to miss, ESPECIALLY for the ending! XD

But I'll leave you all off with something that I haven't done for a while…

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Brainstorming Meeting

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Grimmjow: You know that I would have just gone right out and killed that kid, right?

Raine: Well yeah…but I didn't feel like killing off Ishida. It would have been pointless for the story.

Grimmjow: So?!

Raine: Oh yeah, I just want to know who it was exactly that told you that redheads were freaky in bed. I'm a redhead, you know…

Grimmjow: Eh? YOU WERE THE ONE WHO MADE ME SAY THAT, DUMBA-

Raine: It was Xigbar, wasn't it:\

Grimmjow: sighs I don't even KNOW that guy. He's from a different universe or something…

Orihime: comes in and whispers in Grimmjow's ear Don't mind her, she's just being delusional again.

Grimmjow: YOU should talk, you're just as delusional as she is!

Orihime: Shh! . ;

Raine: What was that? I'm sorry, I was busy daydreaming again…

Orihime: Nothing!

Raine: In that case…

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Daydream Sequence

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Raine: Oh Xigbar, no one will be as perfect for me as you are…

Xigbar: O (eyepatch, lolz)

Raine: Valentine's Day is here, you know. I'm single…you're single…

Xigbar: You don't even like Valentine's Day, geez…

Raine: YOU REMEMBERED SOMETHING ABOUT ME?!

Xigbar: Well, I AM in your daydream, you're totally making me remember whatever you want me to remember.

Raine: So…be mine?

Xigbar: Hell no, you crazy bitch.

Raine: I'm rejected even in my daydreams. TT

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Raine: TT

Grimmjow: What the fuck is wrong with her?!

Orihime: It…it's just best to leave her alone.

Grimmjow: Yeah…let's get the hell out of here before she makes us go through some more really kinky shit. Not that I MIND kinky shit, mind you, but I don't want to risk the chance of being the bitch again

Orihime: …sighs. Yeah, let's get out of here. God forbid what she might make us do next. . 

Grimmjow and Orihime leave in like, light speed. Meanwhile, Raine recovers from her imaginary rejection.

Raine: …mwhahahahahahahahaha…the worst is yet to come. :D


	16. To Exist

Rating: M for smut, language, and really screwed up crap

Rating: M for smut, language, and really screwed up crap. XD

--

To Exist

Themes #8 (Broken Promise) and #31 (Cold)

By Renegade Raine

--

Orihime Inoue already hated every day she spent in captivity at Hueco Mundo, but for some reason, she felt as if the current day would be worse than the others. She sensed it when Ulquiorra entered her room. Normally, he only came in to make sure she ate. On that day though, he came in by himself, which could only mean two things; he was going to verbally abuse her some more or Aizen wanted to speak to her. Honestly, she wasn't sure which one was worse. She didn't bother looking his way, because she was sure that he'd make his point soon anyways.

"Aizen-sama wishes to speak to you."

Well, at least he was still predictable as ever.

She turned around to see Ulquiorra with his usual emotionless expression before casting her eyes to the ground. Her so-called "caretaker" walked out into the hallway and Orihime followed him. It wasn't like she had any other choice.

"What does Aizen-sama want to talk with me about?" Orihime asked, as Ulquiorra usually at least gave her a vague hint on what to expect.

However, Ulquiorra didn't even pause a nanosecond in his movements as he continued down the hallway. He must not have known either, and that only unsettled her even more than she already was. They arrived at the entrance of the throne room and Ulquiorra finally stopped.

"Go," he ordered. "This meeting does not concern me."

Another red flag rose in her head upon hearing that, but Aizen had wanted to talk to her alone before. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad. She knew it was stupid to think positive in this place, but to lose hope was to lose everything.

Timidly, she entered the room. Before she even saw Aizen above in his throne, Orihime was already terrified to see that Grimmjow was already standing inside the room. No good had ever come from her and Grimmjow being in a room together. The first time, she had to stand and watch as he put an arm through another arrancar before obliterating it completely. The second time, he destroyed two other arrancar women in the most violent display possible. She didn't want to see how much worse the third time would be, but she was sure she'd find out soon enough anyways.

"Good evening, Orihime," Aizen greeted. "Is your stay here enjoyable so far?"

Orihime hoped that was a rhetorical question. He couldn't honestly believe that she liked being there. However, she didn't want to anger him by voicing her opinion. "Yes, Aizen-sama."

"Is that right?" Aizen gave a condescending smile as he tilted his head. "You don't have to lie for my sake. After all, I'm not a cruel man who executes people for having a different opinion."

Grimmjow snorted at that remark, although it was barely audible. Somehow, even Orihime doubted that was true. In her silence, Aizen continued.

"I was thinking about it the other day, and I can't help but think that our hospitality has been quite poor."

"N-no…I'm fine, really!" Orihime stuttered out, having a feeling that Aizen's idea of good hospitality wouldn't be good for her.

"There's no need to be so modest, I do not mind catering to your needs a little more."

"All this hospitality crap is nice and all, but why does this concern me?" Grimmjow finally spoke out.

"Actually, I was just getting to that part, Grimmjow." Aizen replied. "Because I was thinking that our guest is probably bored from being holed up in her room all the time."

Warily, Grimmjow raised an eyebrow. "I hope you're not suggesting that I play tag with her or something. I'm not into that kind of stuff."

"No, of course not." Aizen closed his eyes and sat back on his chair. "I think both of you should enjoy the game I have in mind very much."

While Orihime was getting even more frightened of the situation, Grimmjow was a little sharper than her and figured out what he meant by the way Aizen emphasized the last part of his statement.

"You want me to fuck her," Grimmjow stated with a sigh.

"I would use more delicate phrasing, but yes, you are correct," Aizen affirmed. "I want you to have sex with her right here and now."

Orihime gulped hard. Wide-eyed, Grimmjow didn't look very happy about the situation either. He hoped that it was Aizen's twisted way of making a joke.

"Right here? Hah! That's a good one," Grimmjow said with a small laugh. "I mean, you're not the type of guy who's into watching two others go at it, right?"

When Aizen's only response was to broaden his smirk a little more, Grimmjow's lips went down in a scowl.

"Sorry, but I'm not into exhibitionism. Go find someone else to do it."

"Surely you can put aside your preferences to make her happy, can't you?" Aizen narrowed his eyes just slightly to try to intimidate Grimmjow, but it didn't work too well.

"That ain't my style." Grimmjow was going to turn to leave the room, but he couldn't move a muscle. He raised his eyes back up to Aizen, who only continued to smile as he released his reiatsu.

"I'm afraid that I won't tolerate your insubordination any longer," Aizen said with a calm, but threatening tone of voice.

His muscles were starting to ache, but it didn't bother Grimmjow too much. He 'd rather deal with that then to put on some twisted show for his superior.

"Go screw yourself," he said with strain in his voice.

"I'm being serious, Grimmjow," Aizen gave the slightest of frowns as he released enough reiatsu to bring the rebellious man to his knees. "Disobeying me is not an option this time."

Being the proud man he was, Grimmjow still glared at Aizen defiantly. Sure, maybe his body was killing him with all the spiritual pressure he was being exposed against, but he was not the type of guy to show his weakness so easily. However, upon realizing that he still would not obey him, Aizen released even more of his reiatsu. At that point, a bitter, coppery taste flooded his throat. Knowing that it was better to be shamed than to be dead, Grimmjow finally bowed his head.

"Are you willing to cooperate now?" Aizen questioned.

"Yes…Aizen-sama," he replied in a disgruntled tone.

Aizen gave a small smile and relaxed in his chair. "Good, then let's not prolong this any further."

As Aizen drew back his reiatsu, Grimmjow gave one last sneer before turning around to look at Orihime again. He hated to admit it, but as his eyes traveled down her body, he realized that she looked like the type he wouldn't normally mind screwing around with. She was petite, but she had curves that any straight man could appreciate. However, what attracted him more was the innocent and unassuming aura around her. She was the kind he'd love to tear apart. However, being ordered to actually fuck her took all of the appeal out of it.

He advanced toward her, and instinctively, Orihime walked away from him. She shook her head slowly, hoping that it would stop him. Unfortunately, Grimmjow didn't want to go through Aizen putting him in his place again, so he ignored her. As he got closer to her, Orihime began to hyperventilate. Stopping in front of her, Grimmjow watched as Orihime looked to the ground to prevent herself from making any sort of eye contact with him. Deciding that it was best just to get it over with, he reached behind her and grabbed a hold of a chunk of her hair. Orihime gave a small sound of surprise as he pulled down on her hair to cause her to raise her head. He looked at her with an unreadable expression before leaning his face down enough to kiss her hard. She tried to protest, but it only came out as a mumble.

"Grimmjow, don't be too rough on her," Aizen commented from his chair. "After all, we want to make sure that she enjoys it too, don't we?"

Grimmjow rolled his eyes in response. Of course the asshole would want to make it harder for him. With him distracted, Orihime again tried to back away from him. Grimmjow noticed though and grabbed her hair again. He kissed her again, but it was a more uncharacteristically chaste one.

Orihime momentarily paused in her fleeing movements upon the slight contact. However, she quickly came to her senses and again stepped backwards. She was surprised though when she was free to move, as Grimmjow took a step forward for every retreating step that she took. He kissed her yet again, but allowed his lips to linger on hers a little longer. When he finally pulled back, Orihime panicked as her feet hit a wall in the room. Grimmjow finally released his hold on her hair. Before she could even think to try to escape though, he blocked her path by planting his hands against the wall on each side of her body. Orihime choked back a sob as Grimmjow leaned his weight on the wall above and looked down at her.

"Listen woman, it's not like either of us have any choice about this," Grimmjow muttered in a low voice. Before he continued, he brought his face closer to hers and gave a slight grin. "Who knows? Maybe you'll have a real good time if you just go with it."

Orihime could physically feel herself blush in response. Content with the fact that she had stopped crying for the moment, he kissed her a little harder. Orihime gasped in surprise of the change in intensity, which only gave Grimmjow the chance to slide his tongue past her teeth. With the foreign feeling in her mouth, Orihime froze, feeling more tears stream down her face. Everything was happening too quickly, but there was nothing she could do about it.

Even if Grimmjow was getting really annoyed by all of her crying, her submissive nature was turning him on in an unbelievable level. Around Hueco Mundo, all the bitches he fucked had some sort of dominance complex. Made sense, as the strongest were the ones who lived the best lives, but the sex he experienced was always a power struggle. With Orihime, he was sure that most men would be turned off by her lack of initiative, but for Grimmjow, it presented something new to him. He finally had a woman who would let him be in control, and that was what he was all about.

He knew that he was supposed to be gentle with her, but we was so fucking turned on, that he barely noticed that his kiss with Orihime had turned so intense, that he was practically devouring her. Things only got worse for Grimmjow's sanity when she finally submitted and mimicked his movements with her own tongue. Wanting to feel more of her, he broke away from her contact momentarily to hoist her body a few feet in the air. He raised her enough to level her hips with his before leaning her against the wall.

Orihime looked up and was a bit frightened that Grimmjow had a completely different look to his face. Before, it had been analytical, but now she could only see pure lust adorned in his expression. The flushed look upon her own face only drove him off the edge even more as he suckled on the skin below her jaw line. The bone fragment on his face scratched her cheek a little, but the feeling of his tongue on her skin elicited a moan from the back of her throat. Even if it was barely audible, Grimmjow still heard her clearly. Relishing the sound of it, he pressed his hips against her, hoping to make her moan louder. He got what he wanted as she tipped her head back and softly keened in response.

Meanwhile, Grimmjow was so turned on, that he couldn't think straight. One of his hands groped her rear, holding her against the wall. The other hand traveled from her thigh to feel the curve of her hips. She was still fully clothed, but he still savored every inch of her body that his hand ran across. Slowly, his hand then slid over one of the mounds of her breasts before he grabbed the zipper on her neck and pulled down to reveal more exposed skin for his mouth to taste. However, he was so eager with his actions, that his kisses were now more like nips against her neck. Even if he was being a little rough with her though, Orihime didn't seem to mind too much. She gave a pleased sigh, which only made him want to tear off her remaining clothes even more. So he did. He wasn't much for restraining himself, after all.

He let the pool of fabric fall behind him before he again grinded against her naked body. He brought his head up and kissed her as he moved against her a second time. Grimmjow was prepared to push down his hakama enough to pull out his dick, so that he could screw her senseless against the wall. Before the thought could fully process through his head though, he remembered that the woman wasn't his typical kind of lay. Instantly, he decided that he wanted to fuck her a little differently.

Calmly, he set her on her feel before he reached down to untie his hakama slightly. As if she were in a trance, Orihime watched complacently.

"Lay down," Grimmjow ordered.

His voice instantly snapped Orihime back to reality. With her morals flooding her brain, she refused by shaking her head. Seeing that she was back to her normal self, Grimmjow sighed in frustration.

_The hypocritical bitch seemed ready for it just a minute ago._ Grimmjow thought to himself. _Ah well, I guess I just have to make her want it again._

Orihime, in the meantime, had bent down to pick up her clothes, not knowing that it would put her at a disadvantage. Hastily, Grimmjow kneeled down on the ground in front of her. He then pushed her back against the cold, hard, blue tile of the floor. Tears spilled from her eyes again, but Grimmjow paid no mind to them as he licked the salty liquid away. He then trapped her body under his before bending his face down to her ear.

"Try to enjoy it, woman," Grimmjow whispered. "Wouldn't be great to make that asshole's plan backfire on him?"

Orihime shot her eyes up to Grimmjow's. It was then when she realized that he was just as much of a prisoner in this situation as she was. She felt a little bad, because she knew that he was trying to make it better for her in his own twisted way. She didn't want to set out to spite Aizen like he wanted to, but she finally came to the conclusion that it would be best for her to just get it over with.

Shyly, Orihime brought a hand to his face. Grimmjow looked directly at her as she traced the pattern of his skull fragment with her finger. Both looked at each other as they came to a silent understanding. Grimmjow captured her lips in another bruising kiss, but this time, his fervor was matched. She obviously didn't have as much experience as he did, but it didn't matter to him, as long as she was actually doing something. While they kissed, Grimmjow ran a hand across her supple breasts and slid it across her cold, but soft skin. He knew that after today, he probably wouldn't touch the girl again, so he'd be damned if he didn't take full advantage of her now.

For any other woman, he'd just screw them senseless, not caring if he hurt them or not. Orihime was being a good girl for him though, so he figured that he owed it to her to ease her into it. So he brought a hand down and inserted two of his fingers into her. Orihime grunted in a mixture of pleasure and pain. Grimmjow, who was keeping a close eye to the expressions on her face, gave a half-amused snort. If she was that tight, she probably hadn't even bothered to pleasure herself before. However, the fact didn't surprise him too much. It was just different for him. All of the other chicks he screwed around with in the past were pretty loose and hard to get any pleasure from. He almost wondered if it would if Orihime would be worth doing twice.

In any case, two fingers weren't going to be nearly enough to prep her for him. Before he pushed a third finger in her though, he brought his unoccupied hand up, so that he could put two fingers in her mouth. Orihime was a little confused by his course of action at first, but when the third finger went inside of her, she nearly bit his fingers off in reaction. As he moved them inside her though, she eventually eased into pleasure. When she gave muffled cries against his hand, he figured she was about as ready as she was going to get. He removed his fingers from her and looked up at her face.

"This is gonna hurt," he muttered in warning just before he positioned himself for her. He knew that it would have been easier for him to have her on top, because she was so much smaller than he was. However, she had no experience, so he figured that she'd be clueless if he let her on top. It didn't bother Grimmjow any though. He liked having complete dominance over her.

Even when she bit down hard enough on his fingers to actually draw blood as he entered her, he was still entranced with her. He thought that she was cute, even if that observation alone distressed him as he hated the very word of "cute" and everything that it stood for. Although he felt incredible inside her, he figured that it was good that this would be the only time. She seemed like the type that could fuck up his head real good. He wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing, but he didn't want to find out.

Nevertheless, it didn't stop him from having his fun now. He thrusted himself into her again, while her eyes watered from the pain she was experiencing. She tried to stifle the moans that lingered in her throat, but as he moved faster, she tipped her head back and groaned. Sensing that she was starting to enjoy it, Grimmjow removed his fingers from her mouth and used his hand to restrain both of Orihime's hands above her head on the floor. He then looked up to Aizen, who looked far too comfortable in his throne. Despite the annoyance he felt over him though, he still managed to muster a grin. If the asshole wanted a show, he was gonna get it.

His eyes shifted back to Orihime's, which had since become dull and complacent. Strangely, it disturbed him, when it would usually signify his victory. He continued to analyze her expressions as he firmly pressed a hand against one of her breasts and squeezed it as he moved against her. She shut her eyes tightly and let out a soft moan. When she opened her eyes again, she blushed in embarrassment upon looking up at Grimmjow's intense glare.

"Please don't look at me like that," she requested between gasps. Grimmjow's face stayed unchanged though as he plunged himself deeper into her. She involuntarily tensed up, which finally caused Grimmjow to go over the edge. Orihime heard him curse under his breath as he briefly closed his eyes. When he opened them again, his half-lidded expression scared her. Even so, she couldn't look away.

Perhaps she had gotten too caught up in the moment, but despite the fact that she knew he was no good, she found him to be oddly…beautiful. In fact, if it weren't for the jawbone and the hole in his abdomen, he'd be about perfect in appearance. No matter what though, he was the enemy, and her contact with him _had_ to stop after today. Even if the things he was doing to her body, at the moment, felt incredible. She still hoped that it would be over soon.

Grimmjow felt the same way. He ran his hands all over her body while he went deeper into her, trying to get both of them to their release. Orihime panted heavily below him, feeling weaker and weaker by the minute. He tried to hold back, as Aizen specifically told him to make sure the girl enjoyed it, but he had reached his end. Before he could spill his seed inside of her though, Orihime gave one last moan before climaxing. Shortly afterwards, Grimmjow buried his head in Orihime's neck, cursing against her skin, while spilling himself inside her.

For a short while, he forgot that had just transpired was a direct order from Aizen. While catching his breath, he barely managed to stop himself from collapsing by steadying his hands against the floor. However, he tensed as an all too familiar voice spoke above.

"Good, Grimmjow, it would appear that our guest enjoyed having you as a playmate," Aizen said in an approving tone. "Feel free to leave at anytime."

Coming back to his senses, Grimmjow pulled himself out of her and grabbed his clothing off of the floor. Even though the room echoed Orihime's sobs, Grimmjow silently and hastily put his clothes back on. Before turning around, he looked down at her pathetic form on the ground. Instantly, he regretted it.

He saw a tiny splotch on the floor, which caused Grimmjow to feel a peculiar sense of disgust. It didn't sit well with him. He had fucked virgins before, so he knew that wasn't his source of guilt he was feeling. He figured that it probably had to do with the shame he felt over obeying Aizen's orders so easily. Or maybe it was because of an entirely different reason. He didn't know, and quite frankly, he didn't want to find out.

With a scowl on his face, he stormed out of the room in the most livid display that anyone had ever seen from him. Szayel Aporro passed him as he entered and looked at the higher ranked Espada with an amused expression. He then took a few steps forward and looked up. Orihime stopped crying, so that she could cover herself as much as possible.

"Aizen-sama…you summoned me?"

"Yes." Aizen smiled and looked toward Orihime. "I'd like you to run a few tests on her."

Szayel Aporro looked over to the girl and gave a smirk of his own. "I understand. Leave it to me."

"Orihime," Aizen said in a gentle tone. "I'd like you to go with Szayel Aporro to his laboratory."

Orihime didn't say anything in response, but her look of horror spoke volumes to Aizen. "There's no need to be alarmed I will personally see to it that he gets punished, should he do anything else to you."

For a moment, Szayel Aporro held a sour look, but he wiped it away with an arrogant smirk. "The thought of disobeying your orders never even crossed my mind."

He then turned around and walked toward the door. Raising a hand, he motioned for Orihime to follow him.

"Come along, we wouldn't want to keep him waiting, would we?" Szayel Aporro said in the sweetest tone he could muster. Despite that though, she could still sense the hatred in his speech. She didn't know if the hate was directed toward Aizen, herself, or even both of them. Either way though, he still scared her. She stood up and covered with as much of her torn clothing as she could and followed him.

Szayel Aporro allowed Orihime to walk in front of him. Before leaving the room though, he cranked his head that he could look at Aizen with his peripheral vision. "I'll have your results by tomorrow."

"Excellent," Aizen said as Szayel Aporro left the room. "I'll look forward to your findings tomorrow."

--

By the next day, Grimmjow had pretty much gotten over the unexplainable angst he felt about his actions the previous day. However, when he was summoned to the throne room again, he couldn't help but feel that his problems weren't over yet. The suspicion of the matter only grew when he entered the room and saw that Orihime was already there. It was like déjà vu, and it made him sick to his stomach.

The two gave each other a look, figuring they both knew what was in store for them again today. However, both of them were thrown off when Szayel Aporro walked between them. Grimmjow didn't know what kind of twisted shit Aizen had in mind for the girl today, but if it involved both Szayel Aporro and him, there was no way in hell he'd take part in it.

Aizen could kill him for all he cared, but it would still be better than participating in something that was borderline queer. Before he could speculate any further though, Szayel Aporro spoke, "Aizen-sama…I have the test results you requested."

"Very well." Aizen sat up in his chair in anticipation. "Then please report your observations from the test."

More and more, Grimmjow was not liking his situation. He had left the room immediately after screwing the girl, so he knew nothing about any tests. If he was summoned here today though, it probably had something to do with him.

"From my observations of the scene I walked into yesterday, I understood your request, even if you were very vague about your request," Szayel Aporro said. "Nevertheless, I ran the results, I'm sure that it will intrigue you to learn that she is indeed pregnant."

Clasping a hand over her mouth, Orihime collapsed to her knees and cried. Chilled to the bone, Grimmjow froze with a bewildered expression.

"I always wondered if natural reproduction was possible with humans and arrancar, but it appears that somehow, it is possible," Szayel Aporro continued. "Just to be sure, I tested the tiny bit of reiatsu from the embryo and found that it resembled both Orihime and Grimmjow's reiatsu forms, so there's no question as to who's the parents of the unborn child."

Grimmjow was not happy to hear the news. "What the fuck is the meaning of this?!"

"Grimmjow, please don't speak out of turn," Aizen chided. "I'm very interested in Szayel Aporro's report."

"No!" Grimmjow yelled. "This is bullshit! That whole thing yesterday was just to make me a sperm donor?!"

"Please be quiet, Grimmjow. I'm not in the mood to tolerate your outbursts today."

Furiously, Grimmjow threw his hands up in the air. "Does it look like I care what you think? Out of all the jack offs around here, why the fuck was I the one chosen?!"

With a sigh, Aizen relaxed in his chair. He put an elbow up on one of the armrests and leaned his head against his hand. "Because Grimmjow, out of all the Espada, you're the easiest one to manipulate."

Grimmjow snarled in response. He always hated that condescending prick, but that was the last straw. He unsheathed Pantera and attempted to go at Aizen with it. Before he could take a single step though, Aizen performed a kidou spell, which bound Grimmjow's hands behind his back. Even so, Grimmjow still shook his arms violently, trying to get his restraints off.

"Ulquiorra, please escort Grimmjow to his room," Aizen said. The requested man came from the hallway into the room. "Perhaps a couple of days in restraints will teach him some discipline."

Ulquiorra grabbed onto Grimmjow's jacket, but the enraged man nudged his shoulder into him.

"Fuck off!" he exclaimed. "I know my own god damned way to my room!"

For the second day in a row, Grimmjow left the room in a rage. He didn't even attempt to try to hide his disdain over the situation this time though. He was pissed off, but with his hands bonded behind him, there wasn't much else he could do, aside from stewing in his room.

Orihime finally stood up as he left the room. She felt everyone's eyes turn to her, but she kept her gaze to the ground. She was still trying to comprehend her situation.

"How does it feel to know that your child will be the next step of evolution for humans?" Aizen asked. "It must be very exciting for you."

It was too much for Orihime. She briefly felt lightheaded before she lost consciousness and fell backwards. Luckily, Ulquiorra caught her before she hit the ground. Amused with her expression, Aizen gave a shrug in his shoulders. "Ulquiorra, please bring her to her room."

"Yes, Aizen-sama," Ulquiorra responded.

He picked up the girl with a stony expression and positioned her under one of his arms before walking out of the room.

--

A week later, Orihime had at least stopped crying over her unwanted pregnancy. She was still depressed about it, but she had more or less accepted the fact that she was carrying a child.

Since the announcement, she continued to hole herself in the room. Aizen had given her permission to roam the hallways, but she didn't take advantage of the privilege. The last thing she wanted was to see anyone else's face. She still had Ulquiorra to deal with, but aside from being more persistent than usual in getting her to eat, he was at least tolerable.

She heard her door creak open, but she didn't lift her head. She figured it was Ulquiorra again. As she listened to the footsteps though, she knew it wasn't him. Ulquiorra's steps had a crisp sound to them and followed a perfect rhythm. These footsteps though were inconsistent in sound and had more of a swagger to it. It took her a few seconds, but she figured out who entered her room and it terrified her. He was the very last person she wanted to see.

Her visitor stopped a few feet from the couch, where she sat. He stood in silence, waiting for her to at least acknowledge his presence. When she made no such move though, he finally spoke, "Hey woman…"

Orihime brought her head up, but she still didn't look at him. Grimmjow gave an indignant snort before continuing. "You can manipulate things to the point where they never exist in the first place, right?"

"That's what Aizen-sama told me…" Orihime replied.

"Then why don't you reject the thing from ever being conceived?"

Orihime finally looked over at him. His face held a pensive expression as he glared back at her. The thought had actually crossed her mind before, but…

"It wouldn't be right."

Needless to say, Grimmjow was not happy. With a grimace, he stepped closer to her.

"Not right?!" he said with an incredulous tone in his voice. He then gave a spiteful laugh. "That thing in you isn't right! I don't know how you think, but if I were you, I wouldn't want to raise some brat that came from you getting raped!"

Orihime flinched, but she continued to look at him. "I know, but I still want to keep it."

The small bit of patience that Grimmjow had instantly vanished. He gripped his large hand around her neck, but didn't really apply any pressure to it.

"How fucking stupid can you be?! If you haven't noticed, I'm a monster! I kill people and I don't give a shit about anybody! Do you want to raise a kid that will grow up to kill you?!"

Orihime didn't respond, which only infuriated him even more. In the heat of his anger, he pulled out Pantera and pointed the tip of it toward her stomach.

"If you won't reject it, I'll fucking rip it out myself!"

The door creaked open again and immediately, Ulquiorra's familiar reiatsu filled the room. Subconsciously, Grimmjow's hand tightened around Orihime's neck in response.

"The bastard shouldn't even exist!" Grimmjow bellowed.

Despite the fact that he was unwittingly choking her though, Orihime's eyes softened in a somewhat sympathetic expression. "Everything has the right to have the chance to exist. I'll just raise the child so that it will never want to hurt anyone else!"

"If the little shit's anything like me, that ain't gonna happen!"

"You're only like that because you've lived around here too long with so many violent people," Orihime choked out. "At least this child will have me to love it."

Ulquiorra had then stepped between the two, but Grimmjow had already loosened his hold on her and lowered Pantera just slightly.

"Grimmjow, remove yourself from this room this instant," Ulquiorra deadpanned. "You know full well that Aizen-sama wants no harm to come to the woman or her unborn child."

Grimmjow threw a sneer towards Ulquiorra. Ulquiorra's permanent frown inched downwards slightly, but before he could force him out of the room, Grimmjow surprisingly went out on his own. He still seemed a little peeved, but was not furious like the last two times Orihime saw him. It was odd, since he had been the angriest that she ever saw him just a few minutes ago. She wasn't sure what caused the change in his behavior, but she supposed that she should be glad that he wasn't threatening to cut out the baby with his sword at least.

"Come with me," Ulquiorra finally said. "Szayel Aporro is to run a few tests to see how the gestation of your child is coming along."

She sighed, because she was sure that Aizen was only interested in the health of her child for his own personal reasons. She wasn't sure if he was interested for the scientific aspect of it or if he simply wanted it to serve under his command. She didn't like the thought of either possibility. However, she had to go through with whatever he wanted until she could come up with a plan to get out of Hueco Mundo with her baby. For now though, she stood up and followed Ulquiorra to Szayel Aporro's laboratory.

Elsewhere, Grimmjow stood against a wall in his room. He had the perfect opportunity to get rid of all of his problems, but he had somehow managed to screw it up. He didn't know why he backed down from jamming his zanpakutou through her stomach when he had the chance, but now it was pissing him off.

He had done far more heinous things in his lifetime, so he didn't know why the whole pregnancy issue with Orihime was taking such a toll on his sanity. She obviously had no intention of trying to make him act as the father, so he didn't know why he was so worked up over the issue in the first place. The worst part though, was no matter what he did to try to distract himself, he couldn't get it out of his goddamned head.

It was torturous. He felt anger, anxiety, guilt, and disgust over the whole matter, and he didn't know how he really felt at all. Today only made it worse as Orihime's calm words in response to his fury-driven actions played through his mind. The damned chick only made things more complicated for him.

He was sure that if he was more of a pansy, he'd cry over it, but that wasn't his kind of thing. He never cried in his life, and he wasn't going to start now. Instead, he let out his emotions the only way he knew how: he punched the wall in one swift motion. Apparently, he hit quite hard, as a few cracks formed in the wall from where he punched. His knuckles bled from the impact, but he didn't give a shit. He would have destroyed his entire room, but he didn't have much to destroy, so it would be pointless.

The truth of the matter though, even if he didn't want to admit it, was that the girl meant something to him. He didn't know whether it was because she was the best lay he had for a while, if it was some weird psychological bullshit from him being the father of her child, or another reason all together. He just hoped that if he stayed away from her, eventually whatever he was feeling would go away. He had enough shit to deal with as it was.

_At least this child will have me to love it._

Upon hearing her timid voice in his head, he punched the wall again with his other fist. For some reason, that statement got to him the most, and he didn't know why. He knew that his other set of knuckles were bleeding, but he was too deep in thought to care. Why would he care how his bastard child was raised? That, among other questions milled in his head, which drove him up the wall. Maybe all he needed was some time to think. But somehow, he doubted that it would solve all of his problems.

--

A couple of months after that day, Orihime had come up with a plan. It was one that could expose her to potential harm though, so she had to execute it soon. If she waited too long, her pregnancy would hinder her ability to move around.

She spent the last couple of weeks doing discreet research in her mind. She finally started to take advantage of her privilege of being able to walk in the hallways. It surprised her that none of the other arrancar even turned to look at her, but she figured that Aizen probably had something to do with it, as he was very interested in her child. With that advantage, she wandered the hallways and found the least populated area of which she could make her escape from.

On this particular day, Ulquiorra was running errands for Aizen. If there was any day that her plan could work, it had to be this one. Nervously, she waited in her room until she couldn't sense any reiatsu forms out in the hallway. She first walked casually, so she wouldn't raise any suspicion, but once she got to the last turn of the hallway, she ran until she was outside in the deserts of Hueco Mundo. She then summoned Tsubaki from her hairpins. Instantly, he appeared in front of her.

"So it's finally come down to this moment, huh?" Tsubaki remarked. Orihime nodded her head in response. "Alright then, just don't half-ass your command, otherwise this'll never work. I mean, you are trying to destroy Los Noches and everything inside of it, right?"

"Don't worry," Orihime said. "This is to make sure that my baby will never have to be raised here."

"Then if you have full confidence, I can too," Tsubaki said proudly. "By all means, feel free to use my power."

Without any further hesitation, Orihime commanded Tsubaki to reject Los Noches. The pixie-like man zipped past her and began to cut through the building. However, she soon felt a presence approach her from behind. Frightened, she turned around to see Grimmjow in his released state.

"I'm sure you figured it out, Aizen made a strict order to make sure that no one even made eye contact with you," Grimmjow said. "However, what you probably don't know is that he ordered all of the remaining Espada, including me, to make sure that you didn't escape at any cost."

"I'm not going back," Orihime said firmly. "I don't want Aizen to ever lay a hand on my baby…on our baby, although I'm sure you don't think of it that way."

"I already knew you were gonna say that. You're quite the predictable one, y'know?" Grimmjow said with a slight smirk. "I mean, why do you think that I was the first one to find you?"

Orihime did find it a little strange that he confronted her first, instead of Aizen or Ulquiorra. Grimmjow took her silence as confusion, so he continued. "Your reiatsu is very distinctive, so I was able to tell that after a week or so, you walked in the same part of the hallway every day before turning back to your room. I'm not sure why no one else figured it out, but I knew you were up to something."

What Grimmjow didn't tell her was that there were several reiatsu forms in Los Noches, but for some reason, his attention was always drawn to hers. He had made damned sure that he had no form of contact with her in the last couple of months, but he could still sense her reiatsu about as good as he could detect his own. It drove him crazy.

"So what are you going to do? Drag me back to Aizen?" Orihime asked in a rhetorical tone. "I won't let you!"

"Heh, you really think that I'm the type to follow his orders?"

"Then why are you here?"

"I dunno," Grimmjow responded with a shrug of his shoulders. "It seemed like the right thing to do."

Orihime blinked a couple of times, confused by the change in him from the last time she saw him. Before she could ponder on it too long though, Grimmjow turned around to Los Noches and started to walk toward it.

"Wait! Where are you going?!" Orihime exclaimed.

"Did you really think that I was going to escape with you and start a big ol' happy family with you?" Grimmjow said. "That's not how I roll."

"Then what will you do?"

"Remember when you told me that everything had the right to exist?" Grimmjow asked. "Well, you're wrong. Some people should have never been born."

"You're going back in there?! You don't have to do that!" Orihime exclaimed.

"Who else is gonna stop Aizen? Do you really think that he's going to sit down in his throne while the place collapses?!" Grimmjow yelled back at her. He then turned around and created a garganta. "Get the fuck out of here so that I never have to sense your presence ever again!"

Shocked, Orihime looked at him until Tsubaki finished his job and went back into her hairpin. Warily, she made her way toward the portal that Grimmjow made for her. He watched her as she made her way to it, but then those dreaded words made their way through his head again.

_At least this child will have me to love it._

He then realized why it was tearing him apart for so long.

_Maybe if she loved me…_

Suddenly, he grabbed onto Orihime's shoulders with his two claws. Bewildered, Orihime looked up at his softened expression. He wanted to kiss her, he wanted to escape with her, he wanted her to be his. But although he probably could have gotten away with kissing her, as he was kind of helping her, it didn't seem right. He wasn't that kind of person. He didn't deserve it.

He looked away from her eyes and averted his gaze to the ground. "Don't you dare name that kid after me."

He then let go of his shoulders as he dashed inside the collapsing Los Noches. Debris fell around him everywhere, but it didn't stop him. He had to find Aizen and made sure that he vanished along with the goddamned building. A few seconds later, he felt Orihime's reiatsu disappear from the area. He hated that part of him felt a little sad, because he would never sense it again. Despite that though, he continued to run as he felt himself get closer and closer to Aizen's massive spiritual energy. He could practically feel himself rushing towards his own death, but it was all right. Never before had he been so eager to march to his death.

--

Everyone had been surprised when Orihime arrived in Karakura Town by herself. Once she revealed that she was pregnant though, all hell broke loose. It got even worse when she admitted that the father was none other than the Sexta Espada, Grimmjow Jeagerjaques. Once she explained the circumstances and how she escaped though, everyone calmed down a little.

Eventually, without the threat of Aizen around, everyone returned to high school. It was expected that most people would give her dirty looks in the hallways, but for the most part, it wasn't too bad. One day, a couple of especially mean woman decided to take it upon themselves to bully her, calling her such names as "whore" and "slut". However, after that day, they (or anyone else, for that matter) never bothered her again after they wound up having to go to the emergency room of the nearest clinic. Orihime assumed that Tatsuki was the one behind it and shrugged it off, despite feeling a little bad for the girls.

Since her pregnancy was a little abnormal, with one of the parents being an arrancar, Unohana personally kept track of the progress of the baby, to make sure that she wouldn't give birth to a maniacal killing machine. However, the baby only showed signs of developing like a normal human child would, so there were no worries.

In the following months, Orihime's belly grew larger and larger, which only got her more strange glares from passer-bys around her. Despite her condition though, she started dating Ishida. It turned out that he always had a little crush on her, but he was always too shy to admit to it. With her being treated coldly by strangers though, his natural gentlemanly instincts pulled through and he finally admitted it to her. He didn't care if she was pregnant with someone else's child, he still had undeniable feelings for her.

Several people were present when she finally gave birth, but Ishida was the only one that slept beside her in the chair next to her bed at the Kurosaki Clinic. Shortly afterwards, the two got married in front of a large audience of humans and shinigami alike. Despite it not being his biological child, Ishida still cared for Orihime's son as if it were his own.

After some analyzing from Unohana, it was determined that the boy would develop as a normal human would, but would probably have a far greater lifespan. Appearance-wise, the boy looked like a normal human as well, apart from his cerulean colored hair and a small hole in the middle of his chest. The hole was easily disguised by putting a shirt on the child though, so that was no problem. Orihime just made sure that the kid never went swimming in a public place to keep the suspicion down for the curious types of people. However, for the blue hair, although dying it was an option, Orihime decided to keep it as it was.

Every year, although she was sure he probably wouldn't approve of it if he were alive, Orihime took her child to a grave that was made in Grimmjow's honor. Once he got old enough to speak, Orihime would tell him how he sacrificed his life to make sure that he could have a decent life. As he got older, the child would stand and look at the grave, wondering what kind of man his real father was.

The year he turned sixteen, his five-year-old sister got a bad case of the pneumonia, so Orihime wasn't able to take him to see his father's grave. However, he wouldn't feel right if he didn't go at all, so he went by himself. It was dark by the time he made it to the grave, but once he got there, he was surprised to see that another man was already there.

Cautiously, he stepped towards the stranger. He stopped beside him and turned his head to try to get a good look at the man. To his surprise though, the blue-haired man turned his head to the side to look at him.

"Who are you, kid?"

"Sora."

Well, at least the woman kept her promise to him.

"Sora Jeagerjaques," the younger man finished. "And you?"

_That sneaky little bitch._

Nevertheless, Grimmjow gave an amused snort as he looked over his kid. Without a doubt, he was his own flesh and blood. His hair was the same color as his own, although the kid's hair was a little longer and spiked back to look a little neater than his messy style. The kid had a slightly muscular build, but unlike his father, he was also a bit scrawny. He was just a teenager though, so that could change.

"I'm just an old man that's lived far longer than he should have," Grimmjow replied mysteriously, figuring that it was best not to reveal his true identity.

However, sharp logic was another thing Sora inherited from his father's side.

"You're him…aren't you?" Sora said as he looked down at the grave. "You're my real father."

"Eh? What makes you think that?"

"I'm not stupid, you know. For one, you're spiritual energy resembles mine, even if you're doing a fine job of suppressing it right now." Sora replied. "And in the sixteen years that I've been around, you're the only other person that I've seen with natural blue hair."

"Heh, so I've been figured out," Grimmjow finally admitted. He gave a small laugh and looked back towards his grave. "So your mom must have better things to do now, huh?"

"No, actually she felt horrible about not going this year," Sora answered. "She told me once that she could have loved you if you lived longer."

Grimmjow's smile faded from his face for a moment as he took in the information. However, he soon smirked again. "Your mom would say that, even if she probably didn't mean it."

"So what have you been doing all of these years?"

"Just hanging out," Grimmjow replied vaguely. "But I'm getting tired of this place."

"Where are you gonna go then?"

"Someplace I've wanted to go for a long time," Grimmjow said with a strange, peaceful smile. "So you've gotta watch your mom for me, alright?"

"Why can't you?" Sora asked. "I mean, don't you think that you should see my mom before you go?"

"Nah…she'd probably get too fuckin' emotional for my tastes," Grimmjow said with a shrug. "I'm gonna go someplace far away, so I won't be able to do it."

"I see…I'll do it then." Sora said with a sigh.

"Good, you better get going then. She's probably paranoid that something happened to you by now," Grimmjow said. "And no matter what, make sure you don't tell her that we met."

"I won't." Sora responded as he turned around. For some reason, his heart ached as he turned around. Before he took any step to leave though, he had to say one last thing. "See you later…father."

Grimmjow scowled, as he never wanted to have to be called a father in his life, but at least it would be the only time. A couple of minutes later, his son was out of sight and he felt the familiar presence of another.

"So you did get to have the heart-to-heart chat with your son, huh?"

"Shut up, shinigami, it's not like I had a choice in the matter." Grimmjow said as he turned to his former rival.

"I wasn't making fun of you," Ichigo said with a shrug. "You should be happy that you got to talk to him once, at least."

"Tch, whatever."

The two men stood in silence for a while before Ichigo finally spoke up. "Are you sure that you still want me to do it?"

"I've never been more sure of anything else," Grimmjow replied. "I mean, what the fuck else do I have to live for?"

"Yeah, I suppose the one person you could have settled down with got married, huh?"

"Like I give a shit about that." Grimmjow responded sarcastically.

Truthfully, he did get a little pissed off the day Orihime got married to the point where he couldn't even stay in town that day. But deep down inside, he knew that people like him shouldn't have any part in her life. Eventually, he came to accept it.

"So you never told me…how did you survive in Hueco Mundo after Orihime destroyed Los Noches?"

"I dunno," Grimmjow replied honestly. "By the time I got to Aizen, it turned out that the other arrancar rebelled against him and outnumbered him by great numbers. Even so, I thought I died while fighting Ulquiorra. But then I woke up and I was the only person alive in the ruins of Hueco Mundo."

"Apparently your job wasn't done yet, huh?" Ichigo mused. "You're the person who beat up those two girls in high school, weren't you?"

"Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't," Grimmjow replied.

"Well, I know it wasn't Tatsuki, and she's the only other person that would have gone to that great of length to protect her ego."

Again, the two stood in silence for a couple more minutes, until Ichigo unsheathed his Zangetsu.

"Are you ready to go?" Ichigo asked.

"Go for it, shinigami."

Sora, who was walking home, suddenly felt a familiar reiatsu disappear. He suddenly turned around to look at the spot where his father's grave was located. He was too far away to see much, but he still saw tiny blue spirit particles floating upwards in the sky.

It was then when he realized that the familiar reiatsu that he always thought was a part of his own was actually his father's. He had apparently been very good at hiding himself, but it got to him that even if he didn't know it, his father was always watching him and probably his mom too. Even if today was the first and only time he got to speak to him, Sora could feel the tears streaming down his face. He had just lost a major part of his life, and he finally realized it.

He had a good cry as he walked home, but before he entered the house, he wiped away his tears and donned a more serious expression. He couldn't cry around her anymore, or she'd worry about him. He opened the door and smiled towards his mother. He had to be strong now, because he wasn't going to break the only promise he made with his father. No harm would ever come to her as long as he was around.

--

Author's Notes

--

I've written a lot of angst, but for some reason, writing this oneshot has made me feel the most morose. I'm not sure why! Hell, I even started to tear up a little when writing the last part and I don't think that's ever happened before! XD

So yeah, this one was also really twisted in the beginning, eh? For those of you who didn't read it, I made a couple of drabbles a few months back while I was bored at work. Although I said I probably wasn't going to play around with any of them beyond that, I was too proud of my "Circus" drabble to leave it only at one hundred words. And now, it's a nine thousand word oneshot. XD

So normally, oneshots with porn are either PWPs or they end with the porn, right? I figured I'd do the opposite for once. My sister warned me that I'd probably lose people's interest, but I had to try something different.

I also noticed that there's a couple of fics where Orihime gets pregnant by Grimmjow (including my "Worse Than Death" story), but none of them deal with the fact that Grimmjow would probably be absolutely pissed over it. So it was really fun dealing with Grimmjow's loss of sanity. In fact, my favorite part of writing this entire oneshot were probably the parts where he was absolutely livid! Haha, go figure, right?

Anyways, expect something a little odd for the next angst theme I complete. Want a hint? Alright, somebody at the LJ community for GrimmHime suggested that people make fanworks for the pairing with their fairytale. What's my favorite fairytale, you ask? The Little Mermaid. Not the Disney version either, I'm talking about the original version by Hans Christian Anderson. Although I probably won't make the story in the way most of you think I will, so look forward to it!


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